Possessed
by SplendentGoddess
Summary: The long awaited sequel to Possessing, and the 3rd installment of the Possession universe! Picks up directly where the previous story left off. What new changes await our favorite couple now that they actually *are* a couple?
1. Chapter 1

Blanket Disclaimer:

Inuyasha, and the characters therein, are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I am in no way affiliated with Takahashi, or VIZ Productions.

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My sincerest apologies to everyone for this story being a month late! Although considering I didn't even _start_ writing it until December 2nd, when normally I can start at the beginning of November, and I've been battling sickness after sickness that just sapped away all my energy so even in December I slept a lot of the times I otherwise would have been writing, I think I did a pretty good job of busting it out as quickly as possible.

So! Here it is, the long awaited third installment of the _Possession_ universe, which begins immediately where the Halloween story left off. Let's get to it then, shall we?

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Chapter One

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Inuyasha did not require much sleep, but just like his mortal canine counterpart still lying between his and Kagome's feet, he too was perfectly content to just lie there in bed, wide awake but perfectly still, and allow the still dozing miko in his arms to rouse on her own.

Kagome had rolled over at some point during the night. What amazed the hanyou was that he'd slept right through the maneuver, which went a long way towards proving just how relaxed he truly was in her presence. He'd awoken to find her snuggled up against him, her face in his chest, his arms still wrapped around her, and aside from gently moving one of his hands to the back of her head he hadn't moved a muscle since. Whether she'd made the move in her sleep, or had actually woken up for a second and had turned over on purpose, either way it didn't really matter to Inuyasha because it still showed him just how relaxed _she_ felt in his presence.

He didn't know what time it was when he'd woken up, unable to see his bedside clock without disturbing his charge, but it'd still been pitch black out. He lied there, wide awake but feeling more content than he ever had before in his life, as his room slowly grew lighter with dawn's approach. Shortly after sunrise, Shiro stirred and jumped down off of the bed, the akita mix casually making his way downstairs. Inuyasha held his breath, waiting to see if the slight movement of the mattress would wake Kagome, but she continued to doze. She was always up fairly early, so he knew he didn't have much longer to wait, and he was in no hurry since unlike Shiro he could still wait to do his morning business, so he wanted to cherish every precious second he had lying with Kagome like that.

All good things had to come to an end eventually, though, and so it was maybe only five minutes later that he noticed his miko was starting to stir.

Yes, _his_ miko, because screw it, he was her dog and she was his human. He was man enough to admit he was only half man. But amazingly, she didn't mind his canine half, and so in addition to being his human she was also his _girlfriend_ , now, and, in time, she would become his mate. For the first time, he did not blush at that thought. Instead, as she roused in his arms, he moved his face down a smidge and affectionately nuzzled the top of her head, deeply inhaling her scent.

He'd always loved the way she smelled, had snuck a few sniffs of her bedding from time to time when she wasn't at home – in a nonsexual way, as her bed never smelled of _that_ and it'd just been the canine side of him finding her natural scent soothing – but never before had he felt comfortable just openly smelling her the way he was doing now, when he knew she knew he was doing it. He'd seen no point in concealing his own state of wakefulness from her, though, and so this way, she wouldn't wind up thinking she was in a reverse of his own previous predicament, believing she needed to keep still in order not to wake him. If she wanted to remain lying there in his arms a while longer, he was all for it, but he didn't want her making herself uncomfortable if she had to use the bathroom or something.

Of course, as Kagome came to, needing to use the bathroom was the furthest thing from her mind.

She awoke to the sensation of being held in a warm, strong embrace, and she did not have a split second moment of panic before remembering the events of the night before. Rather, she couldn't stop a huge grin from climbing up her lips as she relished in the fact that this was _real_. They'd discussed their feelings the night before, they both wanted the same thing, they were a couple now, and this was _real_. Inuyasha was really holding her; she was really lying motionless in his embrace, snuggled up against the hanyou who really had his arms wrapped around her, and she could really feel it as he buried his nose in her hair and deeply inhaled her scent.

The sensation made tingles race up and down her spine, and she shivered a little, in a good way. Inuyasha had probably already known she was awake, she supposed, but if he somehow hadn't been aware then he definitely was now. Kagome figured she should say something, then, but he beat her to it.

"Good morning," he murmured, a huskiness to his voice that both surprised and delighted her.

It surprised Inuyasha, too, but when Kagome's reply was to wriggle free of his embrace just enough to tilt her head up and meet his eyes, before planting a light kiss on his lips and softly whisper "Yes it is," his surprise at himself was replaced with nothing but thoughts of her.

Hesitantly, though only marginally so, he moved his left hand to her right cheek and brought their lips back together a second time. Then Kagome was the one reaching up to also cup his face as their lips met for a third time, and stayed, two sets of eyes drifting closed as the hanyou followed the miko's lead. He'd seen plenty of kissing on TV, not even counting the more 'adult' programs that showed way more than kissing, but he'd never actually done it before.

Progress was slow at first, a lazy exploration as Kagome moved her slightly opened lips against his and he mimicked her movements in an effort to be an equal participant. Then feeling a little bit braver, and knowing at least in theory what he was supposed to do, Inuyasha let his tongue slip past the boundaries of his own mouth, and Kagome immediately reciprocated. Feeling her tongue dancing with his, tasting her in his mouth – and 'morning breathing' was not even a blip on his radar – Inuyasha felt a different kind of 'blip' as pleasurable tingles sent shivers down his spine. He could feel his body becoming aroused, and he could _smell_ Kagome's own growing excitement, but that didn't mean they had to go from zero to sixty right then and there. As much as a part of him – both physically and mentally – was looking forward to their relationship reaching that level, he was also nervous, a part of him still worried about rejection, and in that moment he chickened out, to put it plainly.

Pulling back and out of the kiss, Inuyasha was panting for breath harder than Kagome was, which the miko took note of as her higher brain functions slowly kicked back into gear. She'd gone from waking up in Inuyasha's arms to making out with him in only a matter of seconds, so it took her a moment to get her bearings.

"Wow, good morning indeed," she said after a moment.

With the way their pajama-clad legs were slightly woven together, her right leg somehow winding up between his own when they'd tried to close what little gap there was between them, Kagome could not miss the sensation of his arousal pressing up against her belly, but looking into his eyes, and seeing a combination of desire and fear there, she just gave him one more quick peck of a kiss and said seriously, "We can take things however slowly, or quickly, you want to."

"W-we..." Clearing his throat, he tried again. "We don't need to go _that_ fast."

A part of her was tempted to reach down and grasp him through the fabric of his pajama bottoms while asking him if he'd at least like her help with his 'problem', but she managed to behave herself, just barely, and instead retracted her leg from between his own. It was then that Shiro apparently got tired of being alone downstairs, as the overgrown pup suddenly ran back up the stairs, into the room and up onto the bed, and Inuyasha had to act fast to avoid getting his erection stomped on as the akita mix glomped the hanyou and miko and took his turn bestowing kisses upon the both of them.

"Gah!" Kagome cried out playfully, while covering her mouth in order to avoid getting deep throated by her dog.

A sexy man who happened to be half _demonic_ dog was one thing, but she wasn't into _real_ dogs!

"Jeez, way to ruin the mood ya big baka," Inuyasha laughed as he rough housed with the akita, his arousal now a thing of the past.

"Let this be a lesson to us," Kagome added, still laughing, "whenever we're gonna _do_ anything we need to make sure 'our son' is locked out of the room first."

Inuyasha knew she was just joking around, but he still froze at her words, his right arm slung over Shiro's back as he stared at her with a serious expression, completely ignoring the dog that was presently licking his right hand over and over again.

"You said before...you said you wanted to raise a family. Last night you only talked about not wanting a human husband anymore, because you fell in love with me, but...what about children? I can't give you children, and even if I _could_ it would actually be a very bad idea, if they were part youkai, so I'm glad we don't have to worry about me accidentally getting you pregnant, but at the same time, would you really be okay with giving up your dream of raising a family, of being a mother, all for me?"

He choked up a bit, his golden yellow eyes suspiciously more shiny than usual. "How can I ask that of you? I love you too much to be so selfish."

Her heart both broke and melted at his words.

"It's not _just_ for you," she emphasized. "I love you and so I _want_ to be with you, and I know damn well what that means. I knew hanyou are sterile, even during a human transformation. I honestly hadn't known if _you_ knew, but I'm glad I didn't have to be the one to break it to you."

He nodded his understanding.

"Over the last year I've read a lot of articles about hanyou, just wanting to learn whatever humans had discovered about us." He paused and narrowed his eyes in thought. "Don't know how I missed seeing anything about a full youkai transformation, but that's a conversation for another time."

"Only a hanyou with a daiyoukai parent has strong enough youki to transform," Kagome explained briefly. "Human scientists discovered that back...back before they banned all the testing."

He raised his left hand in a soothing gesture when he could tell that that particular subject was making her upset.

"I saw articles about that, too, and didn't read them because I didn't want to read about that kind of shit. That explains why I missed it then. But that's all in the past and those experiments are illegal now so you don't have to worry about it happening again...happening to me." He flashed her a genuine smile. "Besides, I'm your registered property now, and for that I'll be eternally grateful. If anyone ever just happens to realize I'm here while you're not home and calls the taijiya on me, like calling animal control to come take me away, instead they'll be informed that I'm in the system and that you are my handler, therefore this is my legal residence. That is a fucking _huge_ load off my mind, not having to be so paranoid about being scene. Now..." He took a deep breath. "We _were_ talking about babies..."

She nodded, but didn't say anything, letting him continue.

"No, I didn't know before I read about it that I was sterile, but I remember when I first found out I just snorted at the useless information, because at the time I'd thought, what the fuck difference does it make? I was still in denial of my growing feelings for you at the time, and while my mother had hoped I'd be accepted by my fellow inu-youkai upon her death I'd already found out the hard way that _that_ ain't happening. But now that I suddenly find myself having a girlfriend...maybe even a...wife?" he phrased questioningly. She nodded much more eagerly that time. "Now, suddenly, it matters."

"It doesn't matter to me," she promised him, taking her turn to talk. "Yes, if you could father human children on your human nights, that would have been wonderful, but you can't and I know that. The government uses that fact to support the bullshit argument that hanyou are 'against nature' and shouldn't have human rights. Could you imagine the paradigm shift required if hanyou _could_ have normal human children? The scientists probably all sighed in relief when it was determined that they couldn't, and it's part of what I've been wrestling with for a few months now. Not the bullshit about how the world views hanyou, but just that old 'are my feelings for you real?' concern, same as you had. And if so, are they strong _enough_? Do I love you enough for my feelings to change my original dreams of the future? To give up on the original notion of getting married and raising a family? And the answer is yes."

Finally rescuing his right hand from Shiro, ignoring the fact that it was covered in slobber, Kagome held both of his hands tightly in hers as she looked deep into his eyes, making sure he could see the sincerity in her own. She wasn't wearing those contact lenses anymore, and so the depth of her love for him shown through nice and clear. It was his turn for his heart to melt at her words.

"It's not a sacrifice, because I don't _want_ that old dream anymore, of finding a human husband and raising a family. I _want_ to be with _you_ , now, and if that means never having children, so be it. But that said, who knows what the future holds? If I decide I _really_ want children some day, there are other ways to go about it, you know. I certainly don't have to have a human husband in order to be a mother, and if I decide to adopt or something, I bet you'd make a wonderful father, even if society considers me a single mother and you just my guard dog. Fuck what society thinks."

Tightening his own grip on her hands, as she'd still been holding both of his hands in hers, Inuyasha yanked Kagome forward and into his lap, as he adjusted his position and sat up straight on the bed, his legs tucked around at the knees. Shiro barked at them playfully as the hanyou slammed his lips back down over the miko's, Kagome immediately kissing him back as she shifted her hands to tangle up in his hair, his hands now at the back of her head and her middle back, and it wasn't until Shiro decided to try to join in on the kiss, licking at both of their faces, that the newly established couple pulled back apart again, laughing while playfully gagging in mock disgust over Shiro's attack.

"Okay yeah, you're right," Inuyasha said then, still chuckling, even as he had to keep his hands on the dog's shoulders to keep the still licking Shiro at bay, the large white dog licking air as he attempted to reach the hanyou's face with his outstretched tongue. "When we're ready to...continue," he added, blushing only slightly, "we'll definitely have to lock him _out_."

He deliberately emphasized the last word while raising his voice and shifting his focus to glare at Shiro, and taking it as the command that it was, the akita mix immediately jumped down off the bed and ran out the opened bedroom door and across the hall into Kagome's bedroom.

Hanyou and miko continued chucking for a little while, and then before either of them could speak up again, Kagome's stomach growled.

"That settles it, time for breakfast," Inuyasha said then.

"First, time for bathroom!" Kagome said as she maneuvered herself up and off of the hanyou's bed.

He just laughed again.

"Ladies first," he declared overly dramatically with a sweeping motion of his hand in the general direction of their one and only bathroom.

While the miko scurried to do her morning business Inuyasha took advantage of the alone time to get dressed, changing out of his pajama bottoms and t-shirt and into his red fire-rat robes. Sure, he'd just worn them the night before, but they were self-cleaning and no longer smelled of all their activities in the city, and besides that, he found a certain sense of security wearing the robes his father had left him, robes that had saved his life on more than occasion. While he trusted Kagome with his life...and heart...he was still feeling vulnerable and wearing his father's robes was like unconsciously wearing a security blanket. He hadn't put any real thought into it beyond being what he wanted to wear.

When Kagome emerged and spotted him she gave him an approving nod before disappearing into her own bedroom to get dressed...and attacked by Shiro. Inuyasha was still chuckling to himself at the sounds coming from her room as he took his turn in the bathroom.

Both of them heading downstairs at around the same time, Kagome dressed in a simple blouse and comfortable jeans, Inuyasha insisted on helping her with breakfast, not that she'd put up much resistance after he made his initial offer. Gladly accepting his help, they worked together to make a hearty breakfast of eggs and sausages with hash browns. Inuyasha handled the potatoes, which were easy to prepare since they had a box of preshredded potatoes on hand specifically for that purpose.

The couple didn't really talk during breakfast preparation, but it was not an uncomfortable or awkward silence. Once their food was ready they also ate in companionable silence, but then Inuyasha thought it would be a good idea to resume their conversation.

"So..." he started lamely, rubbing at the back of his head with a sheepish expression. "I guess there's no...hurry...for anything, we'll just let nature take its course?" Kagome nodded but stayed silent, letting him continue. "This is weird," he said, "because I've fantasized about being with you for a while now, but now that I actually _can_ be _with_ you, I feel like a nervous teen or something." He laughed a little, but it sounded forced.

"I've had fantasies, too," Kagome admitted, only a slight blush on her cheeks. "I'm ready whenever you are, to take that next step I mean. I'm not trying to put any pressure on you," she explained, "I just want you to know that I'm willing to move at whatever pace you feel the most comfortable with."

Reaching over and taking his hand, as they were both still sitting at the table, their dirty breakfast dishes in front of them, she added, "We can take things slowly, progressing bit by bit, or we can go back upstairs and make love right now. It's whatever you want to do."

If he'd been drinking from his glass of water in that moment he would have done a spit take at her words. As it was he still started choking, yanking his hand back from her to cover his mouth as he coughed, Kagome giving him a look that was a combination of amused and sympathetic.

"Sorry," she said while trying to stifle a giggle.

"Woman..." Inuyasha said once he got himself back under control. He shot her a mock glare when she just laughed again. "Let's change the subject," he said then, laughing as well before quickly getting more serious again. "So what all do you know about this youkai transformation business?"

Kagome explained to him what she knew, then, without going into the unpleasant details of how humans had first become aware that daibanyou, like Inuyasha, were capable of such a thing. From their understanding of it, the transformations were unconscious results of a hanyou's youki flaring beyond what even a hanyou with a daiyoukai parent could do by will. A full blooded daiyoukai could transform at will, or sometimes it just happened as a result of the daiyoukai losing their temper, but even a daibanyou was too weak to mentally trigger a transformation in that way. Kagome assured Inuyasha that he didn't have to worry he was like The Hulk just waiting to happen if he ever got angry enough.

"Like I explained briefly last night, it'd only happen if you were physically near death, and the power boost was necessary to save your life. I guess a hanyou's youki just automatically knows what to do to save your life, same as going dormant when you're exposed to reiki."

"Or that's just literally the reiki purifying the youki," he countered with a shrug.

"Perhaps," she agreed, "but your body just continually produces it, save during the new moon. So that's why a purification only turns you human for a short while. Your body is constantly making youki, like we produce other chemicals and hormones and such in our bodies, so if it's needed, your body will produce _more_ youki, like the demonic equivalent to a burst of adrenaline."

"And then it takes over my mind." He sighed.

"Considering the only recorded instances of such transformations involved hanyou fighting for their lives, I don't think their appearance to us of becoming mindless monsters is a fair assessment," she argued. "I bet if you _were_ ever injured severely enough while on assignment your target would remain the oni or whatever it was that had almost killed you. I can't honestly see you turning against us, unless maybe if someone on our team did something stupid like preemptively considered you a threat and tried to attack you, thus making _them_ a threat in your mind. But with people like Sango and Miroku on our team I doubt we have to worry about that. Worst case scenario, I'm confident I could snap you out of it without hurting you...or you hurting me," she added when she could tell that's what he'd just opened his mouth comment on.

"Still..." he began hesitantly. "Maybe one of those rosaries isn't such a bad idea, just in case."

She snorted.

"Nonsense," she scoffed. "People who don't trust their youkai animals use those rosaries, and I neither distrust you nor consider you an animal."

"But-"

"You can't hurt me," she assured him with a sincere look of faith and love in her eyes. He sighed and closed his mouth, trying to put as much faith in himself as she clearly had in him.

"I don't even think you would try," she continued, "but if you did, remember, I can make a purifying barrier around myself at will, so you'd never be able to lay a claw on me, and I wouldn't hold it against you if you attacked me during a transformation, just so you know, but I'm hopeful we'll never have to find out first hand what may or may not happen because I _don't_ intend on ever letting you become that injured in the _first_ place. I love you, and I couldn't bear to see you get hurt like that. I'm thankful you've got the fire-rat robes. Those should protect you from most strikes aimed your way."

"This is true..." he admitted slowly, as he looked down at himself and the archaic red robes he was currently wearing. "I've taken quite a few hits in these robes already, and they've definitely saved my life."

"What we need to do is teach you how to fight," Kagome said then, "and since you already know how to conjure up your youki based attacks at will that should be easy. It'll be just like me with my arrows. I was used to stationary target practice and then boy howdy, did they teach me the difference between that and a moving target!" she said with a laugh. "But when it comes to channeling my reiki into my arrows, or other objects, that part, I already knew how to do. My instructor said I saved him a _lot_ of time. Sometimes they get people not from shrine families, who just happened to have been born with reiki and showed great potential and so they want to join the Spiritual Forces, but then they need to be trained in how to use their reiki in addition to learning how to fight."

Inuyasha nodded his understanding.

"I already know how to dodge," he said then with a laugh of his own. "My robes saved my ass the first couple of times someone took a swipe at me, but then I got better at it. I can smell when another youkai is charging up their youki, preparing a demonic attack. I think with just some practice, yeah, nobody will be able to land a bad strike on me."

"Well, practice starts the day after tomorrow," she reminded him then. "I was already set to start training in the field with some of the people from our local group. Getting called in on assignment early because of that kuma-youkai doesn't mean I don't have to complete all of my scheduled field training, and now that you'll be coming with me, you and I will get to learn how to work together with the others from day one."

"I'm looking forward to it," he said with a nod. "And, if you wanted, I was thinking that you 'n' me could also get in some extra practice whenever you wanted, just the two of us, out in the forest," he added. then "I don't have any experience dodging miko arrows, thank the gods, but of course that probably means you'll be able to land a few hits. I'm sure you could always use the target practice, too, and besides testing my dodging skills by firing arrows at me you could _also_ shoot arrows that I need to try to _catch_ , which would sort of be like _my_ version of target practice. It'd test my reflexes and speed, at least."

"That's a fabulous idea!" Kagome agreed enthusiastically. "I might've gotten to the point where I can hit their moving targets more often than not, but I could still use all the target practice I can get," she admitted. "I'd use my blunted arrows, obviously."

"Even a regular arrow, without reiki, will just bounce off these robes," Inuyasha reminded her.

"Still, I'd feel much more comfortable using my blunt arrows if I'm actually going to be firing shots at you."

"That's fine," he said then. "Nothing like some friendly competition, you trying to hit me while I try to dodge. I like a good challenge," he added with a laugh.

Kagome's eyes lit up in delight, envisioning making special arrows just for the two of them with paint ball tips. "Oh you're _on,_ " she said then, adopting a playfully evil look. She even rubbed her palms together like a cliché movie villain. Inuyasha just laughed again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

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"Look out, Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, the hanyou ducking just as the massive oni coming up behind him took a swipe at his head.

Dropping into a roll, Inuyasha popped back up onto his feet facing the other direction and slashed at the oni with a shout of _Sankon Tessou,_ glowing streaks of youki flying from his fingertips that sliced the oni to pieces. Torn bits of paper drifting down on the breeze were all that remained of the large shikigami.

There was no time to rest or celebrate, though.

Kagome had her hands full dealing with her own shikigami, this one in the form of a flying serpent. A very long but also very _thin_ flying serpent. One purifying arrow at full strength would easily take care of it, but even with all the practice hitting moving targets she'd already had back at the training facility, and the fun competition she'd had with Inuyasha yesterday out in the forest – despite his speed she'd actually managed to hit him with a blunt arrow _three times_ within an hour long period, as he ran around her in circles jumping in and out of the trees – nothing could have prepared her for _this_. She was basically trying to hit a fast flying ribbon, like the kind sometimes incorporated into gymnastic floor routines, except it was going about fifty miles an hour and wasn't swirling in an even remotely predictable pattern. She'd already tried shooting at where its head was _going_ to be, but it'd flip a U-turn after she fired and no longer be in that same spot.

It was really frustrating.

That was what had also momentarily distracted Inuyasha, almost letting that large oni sneak up on him as a result. After taking care of another, smaller demon, he'd been watching Kagome face off against the serpent. At first he'd been watching for an opening to take a swipe at it, himself, but then after realizing he didn't have a clean shot he'd switched to mentally willing one of her arrows to hit their target, as she'd fired one arrow after the other, each one of them missing. Sango was doing her best to help the miko, of course, the female taijiya attempting to corral the thing the best she could up on Kirara, but it would take at least five more taijiya on their own nekomata to truly box it in. With the other three of the original four shikigami already dealt with, the two other fighters who were accompanying them for this training exercise were also trying to help, but they were on the ground with chained scythes and no match for the agility of the flying ribbon-snake.

Miroku was also there but offered the warriors no assistance, depending on your perspective, since they were _his_ shikigami. His assistance was in the form of giving them targets to train with, although he wasn't controlling the things; he'd merely given them life and set them loose. He had the ability to disband his shikigami at will if the fighters ever lost control of the situation and any of his creations started to make a break for it, but in all his years providing this service for Sango's team, pulling the plug like that had never been necessary.

Quite adept at making them, Miroku used his shikigami for his own battle practice, as well, since he could not predict their movements and he too needed to keep his own fighting skills sharp, but seeing as he wasn't usually a part of his wife's team Masaru had wanted Kagome (and Inuyasha) to get used to the idea of her being the only reiki user present during an emergency. The only reason the houshi had shown up at the scene when they'd been dealing with that kuma-youkai was because Sango herself had called him in, and she'd only done that in that instance because she had been unsure of the new miko she hadn't even met yet at the time. If, heaven forbid, there was ever a massive invasion of youkai coming in from the forest, then Miroku's place would be at the front lines, in the woods, all other houshi from the surrounding area rushing in to his position while Sango and the other taijiya, and Kagome and Inuyasha, initially dealt with whatever youkai that had made it into town.

Miroku agreed that with Kagome's skills his presence wouldn't usually be necessary, unless they were dealing with a massive swarm of youkai in town and the forest was somehow clear. Hopefully something that bad would never truly happen in real life, but they always trained for worst case scenarios, hence his surprise shikigami. When Miroku had seen the way Inuyasha had focused in on watching the serpent the others were facing off against, after the other three original shikigami had all been dealt with, the houshi had quickly created and sent in that lumbering oni after the hanyou as a lesson well learned. _Never_ drop your situational awareness during a battle.

Inuyasha was a fast learner, though, and a surprisingly good fighter, too. The monk was impressed.

When their team had first arrived on the scene, in the closed off section of the city used for such training exercises (it was an old abandoned shopping center the Spiritual Forces had purchased decades ago and had left more or less untouched because it'd made the perfect training grounds in that city), they'd been faced with the unlikely but always possible scenario of someone's 'collection' of dangerous youkai escaping and running amuck. It was a controlled training exercise and so no civilians were in any danger, of course, but the idea was to treat it just like the real thing. Everyone had jumped into the fray without needing to be told what to do, including the miko and hanyou, and Miroku, who was acting as instructor in Masaru's absence, had been quite impressed indeed. Inuyasha had headed straight for the largest of the four original shikigami while Kagome and Sango had immediately teamed up to deal with the aerial threat, the other two taijiya each with their own smaller beast to deal with.

The area they used for training was not protected by a barrier, but Miroku could 'kill' the shikigami with a thought – all he had to do was concentrate on the feel of his own reiki powering the beings and draw that energy back within himself – so there was no real danger of his creations getting loose. His shikigami could also not actually hurt anyone, and so were not truly dangerous, but they certainly looked the part and could cause a panic if the wrong person saw them, so even though there was no barrier to keep the shikigami _in_ there was a chain link fence with warning signs to keep unsuspecting people _out_.

Rushing towards the largest of the three bipedal oni as if it were indeed the real deal, Inuyasha had dismembered that first beast pretty quickly, and had then sprinted over to the closer of the two male taijiya, telling the man he'd deal with that oni as well so that he could go help his partner. With the two taijia teaming up against a single oni they'd taken care of it quickly enough, as had Inuyasha with his second kill, and then that was when he'd paused to watch the goings on with Kagome. The two taijiya on the ground had immediately moved in to help the best they could, and Inuyasha had been rooting for one of Kagome's arrows to hit when her shouted warning had (theoretically) saved his head.

Inuyasha knew these shikigami didn't really pose a serious threat, but he also knew he was supposed to act as if they did. One day it might be the real thing, and if he let something sneak up on him like that – never mind the fact that that oni hadn't existed a few minutes prior – he could lose his head for real.

Or worse. He could wind up getting seriously injured and transform.

Shaking his head to free it of such negative thoughts, trusting in Kagome's multiple reassurances that she'd never let something like that happen, if she could help it, and that _if_ it did, she'd be able to handle him and get him back under control, Inuyasha knew all too well from the lesson that had been that final oni to not let his attention wander. He needed to stay in the here and now.

Speaking of, now that the newest threat that had been that latest oni had been dealt with, Inuyasha tentatively shifted his attention back to the others again, but this time, while also still leaving a part of his awareness directed at the entire surrounding area. So far the monk seemed to be going easy on them. A glance in his direction told the hanyou he wasn't making any new shikigami – for now, at least – and so he turned his attention back to the remaining battle taking place and how he could help, one ear cocked in the houshi's direction, just in case.

Kagome was nearly out of arrows, but thinking about it a moment, as he watched Sango throw her massive boomerang over and over, and how the flying serpent dodged each time, the two male taijiya each launching their chained scythes at the same time in an effort to limit its escape routes, Inuyasha had an idea.

While which way it turned was always a surprise, its head zigging and zagging in a truly unpredictable way, the rest of its body always followed suit, like a roller coaster following an elaborate track. Even with as long as it was, though, it was _fast_ , and Kagome had already noticed this about the creature, herself, but even firing her arrow at its head, the tip of its tail passed by that same point before her arrow made it there.

But that was because she was firing her arrows from the _ground_.

Running over to Kagome, Inuyasha stopped her from firing her next to last shot. Or rather, she automatically paused at his sudden appearance beside her.

"Think you can shoot that thing while riding on my back?"

She blinked at him in surprise.

"What?"

"Like piggy back style," he explained with a shrug. "Don't worry, I wouldn't let you fall. I'd hold on to your legs so you could use your bow, but that also means it'd be all you," he said. "I won't be able to slash at it, but I bet I can get you close enough that an arrow will make contact."

He actually would have tried it himself, leaping and slashing at it with his youki, if it weren't for the others. He'd realized after just a few seconds of watching them all working together that he couldn't safely use his demonic attack without risking accidentally hurting someone, and he couldn't just ask the taijiya to get out of the way because even he would need their continuing efforts of repeatedly cutting off the serpent's various escape routes.

Getting Kagome close enough that the beast wouldn't have time to get itself fully out of the way of her arrow was the best solution.

"If you think you know what you're doing, then okay, let's try it," Kagome said then.

Sango and Miroku both separately cocked an eyebrow as they saw Inuyasha kneel in front of Kagome and the miko climb up onto his back. The two other taijiya present didn't think much of it, but then, they'd never spoken more than a few fleeting words to the hanyou, and they'd never seen the way the hanyou and miko were towards each other in the privacy of their own home. Inuyasha might technically be Kagome's in the same way that Kirara was Sango's, but neither hanyou nor miko viewed their relationship in that way.

Just in what way they _did_ view their relationship, the monk and his wife both knew was none of their business. In that precise moment, all that mattered was victory against their imagined foe.

Miroku faintly nodded Inuyasha's way when the hanyou glanced back at him once again. He wouldn't be pulling anymore rabbits out of his hat. In a real youkai attack in the city there wouldn't be an unlimited number of new oni that could keep popping up out of nowhere, after all. He'd wanted to make sure the hanyou knew not to lose his situational awareness, and he could see now that Inuyasha had learned that lesson. He'd let him concentrate, now, on this last remaining threat.

Which was precisely what the hanyou did. He might not have had any battle experience to speak of, but he'd learned how to hunt over the decades, and tracking the serpent's moves and waiting for the right moment to strike was more like hunting than fighting some lumbering giant of an oni. The only difference was that he'd have to rely on his partner to do the proverbial pouncing.

Taking a moment to study the situation further while Kagome adjusted herself on his back and got into a comfortable position that would allow her to handle and fire her weapon, Inuyasha successfully kept his thoughts professional, because he knew now was _not_ the time to let his mind wander in inappropriate directions, or to focus on the feeling of Kagome on his back, the backs of her thighs in his hands. He focused on her presence only in the sense of making sure she was secure and wouldn't slip once he began jumping around.

Inuyasha knew his timing had to be perfect, but he'd been studying the serpent's flight for a few minutes now and he was pretty sure he could do this. "Ready?" he asked his passenger.

Second to last arrow once again notched in her bow, her legs squeezing Inuyasha's sides as she tried to get the willies in her stomach under control – they had nothing to do with her and Inuyasha's public intimate contact and everything to do with her fear of heights – Kagome exhaled and said, "Ready."

Inuyasha gave her a courtesy count to three, but this was nothing Kagome could have truly prepared herself for. Her upper body started to jerk backwards as Inuyasha took off, launching them straight up into the air, but she quickly adjusted her position and leaned forward into Inuyasha. Immediately shifting her focus onto the serpent, which quickly swam away in a different direction at their ascent, like a spooked eel in a pond, Kagome instantly realized that Inuyasha's plan was a damn good one. They were much closer to the serpent at the peak of his leap, Sango taking a higher position on Kirara to prevent the shikigami from climbing higher itself.

Inuyasha jumped a couple more times, letting Kagome get fully accustomed to the sensation while the two of them also studied the way the brainless flying paper snake reacted to their leaps, and then he prepared for the money shot. He watched and waited as the three taijiya got the serpent to change its direction yet again, and then made his final leap with a cry to Kagome to get ready to fire. As predicted, the serpent, which had been heading in their general direction, immediately turned away from them again at their approach, and Kagome, with her bow already drawn, released her arrow the _second_ the serpent's head completed its turn.

Kagome watched, even as Inuyasha fell back down to Earth, as the rest of the serpent's body went through the complete series of twists and turns its head had just completed, and she couldn't maintain her composure, pumping the fist that held her bow while crying out "Yes!" as her arrow made contact with its tail and the serpent disappeared in a bright flash of light.

She wasn't necessarily supposed to maintain an air of professional decorum; Sango and the others all cheered as well, congratulating them on their success, and as Kagome dismounted her canine steed, the female taijiya landing right beside the miko and hanyou, Sango ran up and gave Kagome a hug.

She was irked that her husband had given Kagome such a hard task on her first day of field training.

"At least anything else you'll ever have to deal with from here on out, in training or in real life, should be easier than _that_ was," She said to the younger woman. She then flashed a quick smile Inuyasha's way. "You two make one hell of a team."

Blushing only slightly, and only because his thoughts briefly took him elsewhere, Inuyasha quickly regained his composure and nodding Sango's way, said, "Thank you."

With that ordeal having taken long enough in Sango's opinion, field training was deemed over for the day, and relieved, everyone piled back into their vehicles and headed back to HQ for some menial paperwork before heading home. Inuyasha had to stop himself from grabbing and filling out his own report, but thankfully nobody gave him any weird looks for the slip. He was a member of the team, but really, he wasn't. He was their _service animal_ , and as such, Kagome filled out the appropriate parts of _her_ form about 'her youkai's' performance.

He shook it off and didn't let it bother him. After all, what was important was that his _team_ knew he was a member of the team. Even the two male taijiya who'd hardly spoken to him had said _hi_ when they'd met, and had acknowledged him well enough as a sentient humanoid member of the team during battle. They just didn't _know_ him, but he'd gotten the distinct impression they didn't really react any differently towards him than they would have any other stranger they didn't yet know.

Well...maybe that wasn't completely true, because with a new _human_ member of the team maybe they'd have made more of an effort to _get_ to know him, but at least they hadn't rolled their eyes and said anything negative about having to work with a hanyou. They'd been professional and had congratulated him as well as Kagome with regard to their take down, not just talking to Kagome as if he wasn't there or couldn't understand them. That was still a win in his book.

Going home for the day, Inuyasha was feeling rejuvenated, the workout really getting his adrenaline flowing, but Kagome was sore and walking slowly, the miko thoroughly worn out. After all, prior to her riding on his back at the end there, she'd been running around all over the place while trying to shoot that serpent down, as it'd zigged and zagged over a fairly large area. Firing a bow was also hard work, and her arms were sore, as were her inner thigh muscles from clamping down so tightly as she'd rode on his back.

"I think I need to go soak in the tub for a while," she said as the two of them entered through the front door, an overexcited Shiro greeting them happily.

"Hey, boy!" Inuyasha said as he bent down and let the akita mix smother him in kisses. He smiled, inwardly at least, at the sound of Kagome's quiet giggles. He knew not to smile on the outside in that moment if he didn't want to have a dog tongue in his mouth.

A quick sniff of the house told him Shiro had been holding it in all day. "Good boy," he said, along with a woof that meant basically the same thing. Standing back up, he turned and faced Kagome then.

"Go enjoy your bath. I still have energy to burn, and so does Shiro after being cooped up in the house for so many hours, so I'm gonna go take him on a run in the forest. We won't go far."

Inuyasha had taken Shiro for runs before, of course. Being able to communicate with the mortal canine on his level, Shiro comprehended the fact that there were very real dangers in the forest, and so whenever they let him outside to do his business throughout the day they didn't have to worry about him wandering off. He stayed on the property, despite there being no fence. Shiro did like exploring the trees, but he'd only go if the pack alpha was with him.

"Take your phone," was all Kagome said, as she grabbed her own cell out of her purse from where she always left the shoulder bag by the front door and brought it upstairs with her.

Inuyasha's phone was upstairs as well, in his bedroom, so he grabbed it as well as his keys, turned the phone on – he left it off whenever he and Kagome were together to save the battery – and saying a quick, "I won't be too long," through the closed bathroom door, he waited for Kagome's reply of "Have fun," to be sure she'd heard him over the running water and then headed back downstairs.

"Wanna go for a run, boy?"

Shiro's excited, happy barks and circles had the hanyou laughing as the two canines headed out the back kitchen door, Inuyasha locking the door behind him. Inuyasha let Shiro relieve himself, first, and then taking off at what for him was a slow jog, the mortal dog was hot on his heels as the two of them happily raced through the trees, the hanyou being careful not to go too far.

Back at the house, upstairs in the bathroom, the exhausted miko sank into the tub in the back right corner of the room with a satisfied sigh, leaning her head back against the rim of the tub, the red shower curtain pulled out and scooted out of the way. It was the original bathtub, a white enamel one though not the more rounded, raised, claw foot design. It was more rectangular and flat on the floor, and tucked within a tiled alcove, as it was a bathtub/shower combination, the fixtures against the tiled wall on the left side of the tub, where her feet were, while she rested her head to the right. The bathroom door was behind her to the left. The layout was perfect for sneaking up on someone in the bath, she thought, before snorting to herself in amusement. She wasn't in a bad horror movie, and even if she were, she knew how to fight, now. Not that anyone could have actually opened the door without her noticing. The only one who could _maybe_ sneak up on her, if you ignored the fact that she could sense his aura, just took their dog for a run in the forest.

If she were distracted and not paying attention, then she might not notice any changes in the constant buzz of his youki that she could always feel against her own aura whenever he was within range, should he ever choose to sneak up on her in a playful manner. It'd be a bit like listening to music playing in the background in a store, and if you were concentrating on what you were shopping for, not noticing at first as the music got louder and louder. But in that moment Kagome was actively trying to listen for a specific song, as it were, keeping her senses open so that she'd know it when Inuyasha and Shiro returned. Now that she'd lived with him for a little more than a year she could much more easily distinguish between his youki and the collective buzzing of auras from all the various random harmless youkai living not too far away in the forest. She'd recognize it immediately as he got back within range and approached the house, like recognizing a family member's voice in a crowded room with lots of people talking over each other.

She'd actually gotten so used to feeling his presence, spiritually, that whenever he took off for a while, like now, she found that she missed him. There was an empty spot in her soul, like he completed her, and she couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same way. After all, she knew he didn't 'sense' auras as strongly as she did. For him, it was all about smell. She couldn't ignore, though, the way he'd held her in his arms for the last three nights, and the way he buried his nose in her hair, or the crook of her neck. And even though they'd only shared more chaste goodnight and good morning kisses since that first morning waking up together, she couldn't miss the depth of love he clearly felt for her that was reflected so purely in his eyes when their gazes locked.

She hoped he could see in her eyes that she loved him just as strongly. She would never love another.

And even though she missed the feel of him in that moment, the absence of his youki giving her an empty feeling, that didn't mean she didn't take advantage of the alone time.

Slipping her right hand between her legs, she didn't waste time, not knowing how long he'd be gone. That didn't stop her imagination from wandering, though. She imagined that Inuyasha had stayed with her while she'd taken her bath, that he'd offered to massage her aching muscles and had started with an innocent neck rub before getting braver. As her left hand came up to fondle her breasts one at a time, she pretended it was the hanyou exploring her for the first time, almost afraid to touch her because of his claws until she reassured him that it was all right. She trusted him not to hurt her. As her right hand continued in its task down below, Kagome pretended Inuyasha had asked her to pleasure herself, that he wanted to watch, and then replacing her right hand with her left, she imagined him taking over, reaching down into the tub to touch her so intimately. Even though she was right handed, it didn't take long for her to reach completion with that imagery in her mind.

Knowing that if Inuyasha was beyond her sensing range she should be beyond his _hearing_ range, she didn't muffle her moaning, or stifle crying out in pleasure as she climaxed. Sighing as she came down from her high, Kagome figured she'd better finish her bath before she turned into a prune, and by the time Inuyasha got back home with a happily panting Shiro, a wet-haired Kagome was dressed in her fuzzy pajamas and was getting dinner ready in the kitchen.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

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Training the next day went similarly to the day before, except Miroku refrained from creating any more ribbon thin flying snakes, instead concentrating on a hodgepodge assortment of various bipedal oni, and this time, he created additional ones more than once as the first wave were slain one by one. He finally let everyone take a break, and then as was common when training out in the field he released a second volley, because in real life it was always possible to get more than one call on the same day. Everyone made it through that training exercise just fine, of course, and as the hanyou and miko once again returned home for the evening they were looking forward to the fact that they didn't have to worry about facing off against any more of Miroku's paper monsters for a whole month. In the meantime, Kagome was seriously contemplating investing in some paint ball tipped arrows, just for some innocent fun and games between the two of them in what she considered 'their' part of the forest.

Inuyasha wasn't sure he liked the way Kagome laughed at the thought, but hell, he was game. If his fire-rat robes could repair themselves when they got torn, and remove _blood_ stains, including the smell, then surely they'd be able to rid themselves of some brightly colored paint splotches.

That was a project for a later time, though.

Having another bath, although she enjoyed _just_ soaking her aching muscles this time as Inuyasha opted not to take a run with Shiro, the miko emerged from the bathroom dressed in her pajamas and inhaled deeply as the scent of frying chicken lured her downstairs towards the kitchen.

"You made dinner yesterday, so I didn't dare let my responsibility slip two nights in a row," Inuyasha explained as she came up beside him, the hanyou pan frying four chicken drumsticks from the large pack she'd bought a couple of days ago. "I'm supposed to cook for you on your training weekends, and just because I'm training too now is no excuse to slack off. I don't get worn out like you do."

"You're not really _supposed_ to cook for me on training weekends," Kagome corrected.

"But I volunteered to, and honestly, I don't mind," he insisted. "Frankly, I should probably cook you dinner _every_ night, in thanks for all you've done for me."

"I don't need your thanks," Kagome said, before boldly wrapping her arms around him from behind, linking her hands together against his fire-rat clad stomach as she hugged him from behind, turning her head to rest her left cheek against his back. Inuyasha's left hand automatically lifted as he placed his hand over hers, squeezing gently, while he flipped the chicken with his right hand sans utensil.

"If you want to cook for me, because you just _want_ to, because you enjoy it and you wanna pamper me or whatever, well I'm not going to stop you..."

He chuckled.

"…but I don't want you feeling like you _owe_ me anything. You don't owe me _anything_ , got it? Everything I've given you, from your clothes and computer and money to status as my legally registered service youkai, was all because I _wanted_ to."

"And I _want_ to cook for you," he emphasized then, giving her hands another gentle squeeze and then a pat as he killed the heat on the stove.

She got the signal and let go, moving out of the way, and then she stood back and watched as he buzzed around the kitchen getting everything else ready. Dinner was fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and corn niblets. He'd figured she'd appreciate something hardy after the workout they'd had today, and he was right.

Dinner was a peaceful affair, and then Inuyasha hopped into a quick shower before bed. He wasn't surprised to see the miko waiting for him in _his_ bed when he came back out of the bathroom. He would have been surprised if she hadn't been. She'd been sleeping with him in his bed every night since Halloween, and he absolutely was not going to complain about that.

Neither was Shiro.

Hanyou and miko both laughed as their dog happily gave them both kisses and started to try to play before Inuyasha told the overgrown pup to settle down. Shiro obeyed, curling up at the foot of the bed, in the middle, and then hanyou and miko shared a chaste goodnight kiss before he clicked off the bedside lamp. Snuggling up together, Kagome spooned in Inuyasha's embrace, they drifted off together for another one of the best night's sleep they'd ever had. Neither of them ever wanted to sleep alone again.

The next couple of days went by fairly uneventfully. Wednesday was the new moon so they were both looking forward to that, mainly because Inuyasha was looking forward to going back out to eat at that ramen restaurant, he joked. Kagome didn't see why he had to wait for his favorite food, though, and so on Tuesday she decided to run down there herself to grab some takeout for lunch. She had other errands she needed to run, anyway, so it was a kill two birds with one stone sort of thing. She'd decided that it would behoove her to stock up on some extra arrows. She wasn't running low...yet, but she wanted to _keep_ it that way. Especially if she and Inuyasha were going to be getting some extra 'off the clock' practice in from time to time. She'd salvage any arrows that she could from their games in the forest, but arrows could break, so it was always best to just have an overabundance of them on hand.

She offered to bring Inuyasha out shopping with her, just for something to do, but he opted to stay at home, not yet totally comfortable with the idea of going out in public whenever they wanted. He hoped he'd get used to it soon, because the rational part of him actually loved the fact that he was allowed out into the world now, and the canine part of him wanted to follow Kagome anywhere she went, but it would still take time to retrain himself after so many decades of knowing he had to stay hidden from human eyes at all costs. Kagome understood and didn't push the issue, promising that she'd be back soon and also that she'd bring home something 'special' for lunch.

"Ramen?" he asked hopefully, his ears perking up in excitement.

Kagome just laughed.

"Of course," she confirmed. "Is there anything better?"

"Nope!"

Chuckling some more, she grabbed her jacket and shoes, and in an act that was already starting to feel completely natural, she gave Inuyasha a quick kiss goodbye on the lips before heading out. He stood staring at the door for a few seconds after she was gone, just running the pad of his index finger over his lips until those lips spread into a huge grin. A whole week later, and he was still pinching himself at times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. This was real. They were a couple. And the only thing holding back the progress of their relationship was himself, he knew, because Kagome had already made her position _quite_ clear.

Well, he'd just have to do something about that, wouldn't he?

Tomorrow.

He'd realize a couple of days ago that the new moon would be perfect. For the last several months he'd been terrified of accidentally letting his human emotions run loose, and so tomorrow night he would finally _let_ them, and let nature take its course.

In the meantime, though, he needed to keep his mind occupied, so while Kagome was at the store he decided to distract himself with his new favorite method of passing the time: woodcarving.

Heading up to his bedroom, Shiro dutifully following along behind him, Inuyasha got out one of his test subjects from the bottom dresser drawer and had a seat on the edge of his bed, piece of wood in hand. It was a hunk of wood broken off from that original piece of log he'd collected that he'd initially thought had landed him in _big_ trouble before Sango and Miroku had turned out to be so nice. Now it turned out he owed his legal status to that log, so the least he could do was try to carve something beautiful out of part of it. The piece he held was roughly the size and shape of a large can of soup, except jagged and uneven all over, of course, the center drooping down a bit on top with the ends raised on two sides. His ultimate goal was to make a Hotei figure with his arms raised, his hands above his head, but he had a long way to go.

Taking his right index and thumb claws, he began to pinch down, hard, in the top center of the thing, far above where the top of Hotei's head was supposed to be. The wood began to give under the pressure, until he carefully removed a chunk in a similar fashion to if a human had pinched off a section from the top of a block of cheese. An imprecise process, to say the least.

He sighed.

He'd _thought_ this would be a hobby he didn't need to invest in any supplies for, first, but he'd discovered that while he could create the basic shape he wanted in the wood with just his claws, all the fine details needed to be done with the proper tools, like knives and chisels. Nothing he couldn't order online, of course, so thanks to his 'budget' courtesy of Kagome he'd been able to purchase himself a beginners woodworking kit. Now he just had to teach himself how to actually do it, but practice made perfect.

He'd really have rathered just use his claws for the entire process, because he'd thought that would make his little carvings all the more unique, but while his claws were virtually indestructible they were also just not that sharp, and so could not be used like fine little instruments. When he sliced at something like a tree, or youkai, he was cutting with his _youki,_ but all he could do was fling out those giant slashes of energy. He couldn't bring up his energy into his fingertips to just use his claws like ten tiny knife blades, or laser beams, on the ends of his fingers. His talons were pointy, yes, and because of his strength he could force them into the wood. Hell, he could even force them into stone. But they were not dangerous if he wasn't putting any force behind it, which despite it meaning he needed knives to do his woodworking was actually a good thing, he knew, or else he'd have probably accidentally scratched Kagome by now. Especially when she'd tentatively run the tip of her fingers against his claws during an intimate gesture of friendship several months back. He'd made some comment or another about his youkai traits, and how amazed he was that she didn't mind sharing her home with a man who had claws and fangs, that she wasn't afraid of his claws, and she'd proceeded to take his hand in hers and run her finger along his claws before telling him that she liked him, he was her friend, and so she wasn't bothered by any part of him, wasn't _afraid_ of any part of him, because it wasn't about the claws themselves, it was about the man they were attached to, in regard to whether he'd ever attack her or not, and she'd told him she trusted him to never attack her and so therefore, she had no reason to fear his claws.

It was just one of the many things that had made him start falling in love with her, and all things considered, he was glad his talons were as blunt as they were, even if it meant he couldn't make his woodcarvings using nothing but his claws. That was a small price to pay to never have to worry about accidentally hurting Kagome, especially now that she was his girlfriend.

In fact, maybe one night if he was feeling brave enough…

 _Gah! Not going there right now!_

He was getting _way_ off topic in his mind. He was supposed to be working on his Hotei figure and for the last few minutes he'd just been sitting there holding the piece of wood in his hand without doing anything with it.

 _If all I'm going to do is sit here with a piece of wood in my hand while thinking about Kagome, I should just put this away and take my pants off,_ he thought with a snort.

Then he actually found himself wondering what Kagome's reaction would be if she came home and 'caught' him pleasuring himself.

Too bad there was no way in all the hells he could make it look like an actual accident, or he just might consider it, but there was also no way in all the hells he wouldn't hear/smell/sense her coming home, and she knew that, and so it would be screamingly obvious he'd been waiting for her like that on purpose, which would just make the whole thing far too embarrassing. Maybe some day in the future, as a game between the two of them, but there was absolutely no way he could spring something like that on her as a surprise, even knowing that her reaction, after that initial surprise, would almost definitely be a positive one.

Quickly deciding he needed to get _those_ particular of thoughts out of his head, as well, before he did indeed wind up with a second piece of wood, he glanced around his room before turning his head to glance down at the dog sitting beside him on the bed, Shiro looking up at him with that happy doggie smile he almost always wore.

Suddenly, inspiration struck.

He didn't really want to make Buddhist or Shinto figurines, after all. He'd just picked an image of Hotei with his hands raised as a pattern to copy while practicing. He'd still been at a loss as far as what to _actually_ make once he felt he was good enough to start making something that could be made over and over again and sold online. That momentary glance in Shiro's direction had just answered the riddle for him, though. Dogs! Dog figurines, using Shiro as a model, at least at first. His cellphone was an older basic model but Kagome's smartphone had a fabulous camera, so she could take a bunch of pictures of Shiro for him and load them onto his computer.

He supposed he could just do an image search for pictures of dogs but using his own dog as a model would add another personal touch, plus each photo could be put up on the eventual online store as a side-by-side comparison along with a picture of the carving. He was just about to do an image search for his practice piece, at least, to see if the lump he was holding that _was_ going to become Hotei could instead become an akita's head, but when he heard Kagome's car coming back from up the road he immediately tossed the piece of wood back into the bottom drawer of his dresser. The woodworking could wait.

When Kagome entered through the front door a few short minutes later she couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Inuyasha and Shiro both excitedly greeting her. She'd been gone for less than an hour!

"My two happy puppies," she said, still chuckling as she handed Inuyasha the large wrapped bundle of arrows she'd been holding. "If you had a tail it'd be wagging."

Ignoring the dig, because it was true, and taking the arrows from her on autopilot, Inuyasha's smile was as bright as ever as he asked her, "Did you get it?"

Kagome just laughed again.

"I said I would, didn't I?"

He visibly started sniffing the air, looking desperate.

"Relax, it's just still out in the car," she said, giggling as he visibly sagged in relief.

She quickly went to retrieve their takeout containers, Inuyasha setting her new bundle of arrows down on the coffee table while she did, and then handing him his container of ramen as she reentered the house and closed and locked the door behind her, he took it from her and ran eagerly into the kitchen, not unlike a dog running off to go eat a treat it'd been given. Their real dog followed after the hanyou as he ran, barking loudly in his own excitement as Shiro could also smell the deliciousness.

"Fat chance, this is _all_ mine," Inuyasha said back to the akita mix.

"I still find it amazing that you can actually understand him," Kagome said as she entered the kitchen with her own container in hand, Inuyasha already slurping his noodles while hovering over the sink. "I mean granted, it didn't take Doctor Dolittle to figure out what he wants _this_ time," she added with a laugh, "but I just mean just generally speaking."

"I _am_ half dog, you know," Inuyasha replied as he glanced her way, wiggling his ears for emphasis. "It just comes naturally."

"It's too bad cats and dogs can't really communicate with each other like they do in those comedy movies where all the animals secretly speak like humans," she said then, as she leaned against the center island and started eating her own noodles straight out of the to-go carton just like he was doing, using the included disposable chopsticks.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Kirara understands human language, but I'm at as much of a loss to her specific meows as anyone else."

"Sango's pretty good at communicating with her, she said, since the two of them have been together for so long, but it's still just gotta be general things," Kagome said. "Poor Kirara must get so frustrated, if she wants to communicate something _specific_ but can't."

"You could probably give her a pen to hold in her mouth and she could write it out, or type it on a keyboard. That nekomata is as intelligent as any humanoid youkai," Inuyasha said then.

"That's such a good idea! I wonder if Sango's thought of that?"

Inuyasha just shrugged. "I'm sure if something were important enough, Kirara would improvise and figure out a way to get her point across. Just because she's as smart as a human, she's also still a _cat_ and is probably content to do cat things most days."

"Can't say I blame her there," Kagome acknowledged.

"Definitely not," the hanyou agreed with quiet chuckle.

Deciding he didn't need to get back to his woodcarving today, after lunch hanyou and miko ended up enjoying watching TV together on the couch for the rest of the evening. The part they enjoyed the most was Kagome snuggled up against him, her feet tucked up underneath her as she curled up and cuddled against the hanyou's side, Inuyasha's left arm wrapped around her and holding her close. They could have been watching the stock exchange and it wouldn't have mattered, but as it was the TV was on the game show channel. They actually halfway paid attention to the programming until Kagome tilted her head up to start kissing along Inuyasha's jawbone. The next thing either of them knew, they were making out on the couch.

Kissing led to touching, and before he knew it, Inuyasha had his hand underneath Kagome's shirt, holding a lace covered breast, while her fingers were stroking the bulge in his pants, over the denim. A particularly pleasurable jolt shot through him, and he whimpered, squeezing her breast, but when he felt her fingers fumbling with the button on his fly he grabbed her hand with his free one and pulled out of their seemingly unending kiss, his other hand vacating her shirt.

"Kagome, I..."

"It's all right, Inuyasha."

"No, I mean… That is, I'm not _stopping,_ necessarily. I'm just...nervous. I'm...different, and I _know_ you've said how you aren't bothered by my claws, or fangs, or ears..."

"I think your ears are adorable," she chimed in when he trailed off, understanding what he was getting at but wanting to calm him down by changing the subject. "I want to touch them."

"Yeah, and- wait...what? My...you want to _touch_ my _ears?_ "

"May I?"

He eyed her suspiciously, but couldn't keep a straight face for long and cracked a smile.

"Of course you can, but they're pretty sensitive, so please don't rub my ears and crotch at the same time or you'll have me messing my pants," he braved teasing.

He relaxed when she just giggled, and then suddenly, Kagome was sitting in his lap, both hands capturing his ears for some tender, circular rubs, while her lips captured his own once more. Groaning into the kiss and closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms around her and, shifting their positions a little bit, so that her legs were on either side of his thighs, he actually started rocking up against her, heedless of his own words of caution.

And he hadn't been kidding. More than once he had to abruptly stop moving his hips, holding Kagome still as well when she tried to keep rocking against him. Holy fucking kami but did that woman have talented fingers. His ears _were_ sensitive, and she could hurt him so easily, not that he'd ever believe her capable of hurting him _on_ _purpose_ , but man oh man did she know how to rub his ears just right. If he weren't also horny as fuck at the moment he could've just sat back and relaxed and let her rub his ears all night long, but right now he needed to _rub_ something else before he lost his fucking mind.

He knew she'd do it for him in a heartbeat if he asked her to, too, but he was being paranoid, and anyway, the new moon was tomorrow night. He could wait one more night. He wanted his human night to go perfectly, without her able to superimpose a visual of his hanyou self in her mind's eye. He wanted to see her looking upon him without any hint of disgust in her eyes. Hopefully that would also be the case when she finally gazed upon his hanyou form for the first time, which he planned on finding out pretty damn soon – it would have been tonight if the new moon were further away! – but for now, he could wait.

"You are way too good at that," he said, grasping both of her hands in his and gently pulling them away from his ears. "No wonder Shiro loves you so much," he added with a snicker.

"I've been wanting to touch them for so long," she confessed.

"Well now that we're together, feel free to touch them whenever you want. Some other time when... _other_ parts of me aren't feeling neglected, I could just sit back and let you play with my ears for as long as you want."

"I don't mind playing with something else, too, you know."

Closing his eyes, he groaned.

"I know…"

"It's okay," she said then. "If you're not ready, there's no hurry."

"How are you so fucking understanding?"

"I love you?" she answered playfully.

"Ohhhhhhh..." he replied in an exaggerated tone of realization. "That explains it, then."

Laughing, Kagome just smacked his chest, which had the hanyou laughing as well, and then climbing out of his lap to plop herself back down on the couch beside him, she made to snuggle up against his side again and resume watching TV but he gently extracted her arm from the way it was wound around his own, as he slowly stood back up.

"I...uh...I'll be back in a minute. I need to go to the bathroom."

 _I bet you do,_ Kagome thought but didn't say, not that it mattered because he could read her thoughts in her eyes and he blushed crimson as he scurried upstairs.

He was still blushing when he came back downstairs about five minutes later, but to his credit he actually _came_ back downstairs, instead of hiding from her in his mortification. He only had himself to blame, he knew. To Kagome's credit, she didn't tease him or even smirk at him as he sat back down on the couch again, and instead she merely snuggled up against him once more. Refraining from any more kissing, hanyou and miko enjoyed the rest of their evening watching TV together, and when it was time for dinner he insisted on helping her cook.

They watched a little more TV after eating, and then when it was time for bed they went upstairs together, Kagome heading into her own room to change into her pajamas but then, after doing her nightly stuff in the bathroom, she went into Inuyasha's room as per their apparently unspoken agreement that she always slept in there now. She'd teased him on Halloween night that he'd spoil her, that she'd want him to hold her in his arms every night after that, and she hadn't really been kidding, nor had he been kidding when he'd told her in turn that it wouldn't be a burden. He was happy to have her with him in his bed.

She supposed they could always move into _her_ room, since it was a little bit bigger than his, but on the other hand it was also his mother's old room, and even though he'd told her it didn't bother him that she slept in there now (well, back when she actually _did_ sleep in there), she knew they were working up to it and would eventually be doing _more_ than just sleeping in whichever bed they were in for the night, and _that,_ he might not feel comfortable doing in his mother's old bedroom. Besides that, neither closet was actually large enough to hold _all_ of their clothes, and neither were any of the dressers. Her room was already chock-full of her stuff, and his room was chock-full of his, and there was really no reason not to keep it that way. She didn't mind having all of her stuff in her room but then actually sleeping in his. She didn't mind it at all.

Kissing him goodnight, making sure to keep it chaste, Inuyasha was the one who lingered a moment longer than usual before pulling away, having kissed her with open lips but no tongue.

"Goodnight," he murmured quietly, his tone of voice revealing how much he truly loved her.

Smiling, she playfully gave his left ear a quick tweak, earning a grin from the hanyou, and then rolling over onto her right, she 'assumed the position' as it were, and after clicking off his bedside lamp he pulled her body close to his, her back against his chest, as he wrapped his arms around her. He got her back for the ear tweak with a quick squeeze of her breast, grinning wider when she giggled, but then he settled down and Kagome drifted off to a pleasant sleep not long after. He was awake for a while longer, just enjoying holding her, smelling her, listening to her even breathing and heartbeat, but the sensations of having a sleeping Kagome in his arms eventually lulled the hanyou off to sleep as well. His last coherent thought was that he was _really_ looking forward to tomorrow night.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

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"We're not going to get you in trouble, are we? Now that they know about me?" Inuyasha asked as he glanced over his reflection's shoulder to the miko standing behind him in his bedroom. "If someone from our fighting team sees us they might realize who I am."

"Since there's nothing in the rule book specifically about hanyou, there's nothing in the rule book specifically about _not_ bringing 'your hanyou' out into public during their human time," Kagome replied, coming up behind him and wrapping her left arm around his middle while tweaking his temporarily human ear with her right hand.

"But most all restaurants have a 'humans only' policy, save service animals," he said.

"But you _are_ human right now," she pointed out. "Sure, there are technically differences in your DNA, but even a reiki user can't tell the difference. To my senses, you're a human. There's nothing that gives away the fact that you're a hanyou. You never worried about it before."

"That's because I wasn't registered before."

"Ah, but being registered means you _are_ , technically, my service animal now, so even if someone at the restaurant somehow knew you _were_ a hanyou, technically, you're legally allowed to be there with me, anyway."

"Well hell, you make a good point."

"Besides..." she teased then. "Ramen, remember?"

" _Very_ good point!" he agreed, laughing.

Deciding not to worry about it, then, Inuyasha allowed himself to relax and enjoy his night out with her. Later he had plans for enjoying his night _in_ with her, but ramen came first!

He was still a little nervous about tonight, although he was trying not to dwell on it. He had no _specific_ plans, except to just not hold back and let nature take its course. He already wasn't holding back _emotionally_ _,_ and that was definitely a freeing feeling, to know he no longer had to fret over accidentally revealing his love for her. She knew he loved her, and she loved _him_ , and he'd be a ridiculously emotional softy tonight, by choice. His emotions were always so much more vibrant as a human, and he'd had to keep a tight lock on them during their previous 'dates' for fear of letting something slip unintentionally. Now, he didn't try to hide just how much she truly meant to him as he looked into her eyes via the mirror above his low dresser. Grabbing her left hand with his own from where hers rested on his belly, he brought it up to his mouth and planted a kiss in her palm before letting go and turning around.

"Okay, let's do this thing," he said.

The drive was uneventful, and when they got to the little ramen shop they ordered then settled down at the two-seater table in the back corner.

Kagome was struck by the intensity in his temporarily chocolate brown gaze as he looked into her eyes again, while he murmured quietly how grateful he was to have met her, how thankful he was that she'd bought his mother's house, and how much all she'd done for him over the last year really meant to him.

"I..." she started then stopped, not sure what to say. Not sure what she _could_ say. "Inuyasha-"

She shut her mouth and pried her eyes away from his as their food was brought over, thanking the waiter, before trying once again to form her thoughts.

"You know I sincerely believe it was the will of the kami," she said. "I've been drawn to that house my whole life, but I never would've been able to buy it if not for winning the lottery. Somebody _wanted_ me to have that house. Somebody wanted me to be able to be there for you. I'm honored I was chosen to be the one to love you."

He wanted to lean across the table and kiss her, but such things weren't done in public and besides, they had steaming bowls of ramen sitting in front of them now, and it needed to be eaten before it cooled. So instead of answering her with words, because she could read his emotions in his eyes loud and clear, Inuyasha just picked up his chopsticks and started eating. Kagome took the hint and concentrated on her own dinner as well. There were some things that couldn't be discussed properly in public, after all, like reminiscing on the moment she'd first found him hiding up in the attic. They both knew what should and shouldn't be said within earshot of anyone else, and it wasn't like they hadn't had this conversation before. Even before she'd realized she was falling in love with him she'd firmly believed the kami had put her into his life on purpose, for his sake as well as her own. She was glad she'd been able to do everything for him that she had thus far, including introducing him to first instant and then freshly made ramen.

"Man, I could eat this every day," Inuyasha said between bites, taking a quick drink of soda before shoveling another large amount of noodles into his mouth, slurping loudly.

When they were finished with dinner Inuyasha enthusiastically asked if they could once again also get some ramen to go, because even reheated this stuff was better than the instant and, in his opinion, it made a fabulous breakfast food.

"Not that I don't still love the instant stuff, too," he said then, "but, well… You _did_ try to warn me, didn't you? I should have listened!" He laughed. "But the instant stuff will always hold a special place in my heart. That meant so much to me, when you offered to feed me."

The restaurant was almost empty at the moment, which was both good and bad when it came to eavesdroppers, because being quieter meant the few people in there could more easily overhear them, but if anyone overheard this conversation they'd probably just assume that Inuyasha had either been homeless at one point or Kagome had mistook him for a homeless person in need of food. That he'd been living in the home she'd bought, or that he was actually a hanyou, shouldn't occur to anyone from what they'd said thus far.

"I'd gotten used to the stuff while living on a budget," Kagome said then, in regard to instant ramen. "Plus it took a while before the kitchen was ready to be cooked in, so it'd seemed the natural choice," she added, reaching across the table to hold his hand.

She discreetly ran her thumb along the edges of his blunt human fingernails. He was so different like this. She missed his claws. Never once had he accidentally harmed her with them, and she didn't fear them. The look in Inuyasha's eyes told her he understood the gesture, and the fact that she didn't fear the claws that normally tipped his fingers was just one of the countless things he loved about her.

She retracted her hand and took a drink from her own soda.

"Well," she continued then. "But even if I hadn't had any cup noodle on hand I probably would've just made you a sandwich."

"Which I would have loved just as much," he said, his eyes shining in the lighting of the noodle shop. "It's not the food, it's that you were willing to _feed_ me."

"Stop it," Kagome joked, fanning her face a bit with her hand while blinking rapidly. "You're going to make me cry."

"Me too," he confessed with a quiet chuckle. "So yeah, let's change the subject."

"How are you coming along on that Hotei carving?" she asked him then.

That was how, during the drive back home, Inuyasha was so much more talkative than usual, making Kagome giggle, as the hanyou-turned-human went on and on about his new ideas for carving wooden figures, and how he'd been hit upside the head with inspiration just yesterday in fact.

"...so then it just hit me, Shiro!" he said with a laugh, telling her his idea of having her take some good pictures of their dog in different poses that he could use as models for different figurines.

"That's a great idea!" Kagome agreed, already getting marketing ideas about promoting her inu-hanyou making carvings of her 'other' dog, his companion.

He'd had to warm her up to the idea of marketing the carvings as being done by 'her' hanyou, but he'd assured her he knew _she_ didn't see him that way, and since the rest of the world _did_ they might as well take advantage of the marketing opportunity it offered them.

He also thought it'd be better to just be honest about the fact that he made them, rather than trying to pretend he was a human online, creating a fake identity for himself.

His original idea, of making and selling carvings to earn his own money, was a good one regardless, but he'd only thought he'd have to play human online back when his very existence had still been a secret. He would've had no choice then. Either create the site in Kagome's name and just pretend to be her, or create his own fake online persona, those were the choices.

Now that he'd been found out, though, and was registered as hers with the Spiritual Forces, that had changed _everything_. The last thing he wanted to do was anything that could potentially get Kagome in trouble, and 'her' hanyou posing as a human online, engaging in transactions with other humans who had been deliberately deceived in that regard, probably qualified. Now that some people knew about him – and he was sure more would find out, eventually, since the news always showed up to youkai attacks, and so he was just waiting for the day they got their first call and it was _recorded_ – he had to play by the rules.

The best idea was to set up the website in Kagome's name, as if she were the one selling the carvings (even if he actually did the website part himself and she just replied to any emails) and promote the carvings in a similar way to other artwork made by animals. Humans loved artwork made by animals, which was actually a horrible thing when you considered that at least some of those animals, like elephants, were tortured into learning how to do it, but at least he'd thankfully been spared _that_ experience. He _wanted_ to do it. He'd make sure the description on the website was written in her voice and talked about how much 'fun' he had making the carvings.

Thinking of torture reminded him briefly of the hanyou that'd come before him, the less fortunate ones, but he quickly shook those thoughts free. It was what it was and at least the laws had been changed. It wasn't still going on. The only person who could torture him was _Kagome_ , in a very different way, and _that_ thought had his pants feeling tighter as the miko pulled up in the driveway, completely unaware of the direction his thoughts had traveled in while she'd still just been thinking about his future carvings of Shiro, and how to go about getting perfect pictures of their dog.

That dog did _not_ hold still when you tried to take his picture!

Speaking of Shiro, he greeted the couple extra enthusiastically when he realized they had food with them. Laughing and telling him _no_ , Kagome went into the kitchen and put their 'breakfast' in the refrigerator, then let Shiro out for a moment when the dog whined by the backdoor.

She didn't bother walking away because she knew he'd be barking to come back in in less than a minute, and he was, so she let him in and _then_ headed upstairs to get changed, Inuyasha already changed out of his clothes and wearing a pair of pajama bottoms as she caught a glimpse of him heading into the bathroom as she reached the upstairs hallway.

 _Get a grip on yourself, girl,_ she told herself as she went into her bedroom and closed the door.

 _I'd rather get a 'grip' on something else,_ another part of her mind supplied.

Stripping out of her light sweater and jeans, she tried to get her thoughts to behave themselves before realizing, maybe she didn't have to. After all, Inuyasha was more emotional on his human nights. She'd never ever try to push him into something he wasn't ready for, but she could at least try to see if he was feeling in the mood to be ready. Didn't hurt to ask.

She had no idea Inuyasha already had plans of his own.

Heading into his room after she'd donned her pajamas, Kagome was not surprised to see Inuyasha already in bed, sitting up and waiting for her, but she _was_ surprised he was still _shirtless_. He'd always worn a t-shirt to bed before, and while it wasn't really _that_ cold with the radiators going, it wasn't really that warm, either, and he was more susceptible to the cold in his human form.

The look he gave her as she entered his room and approached the bed told her he wasn't feeling the cold.

"Might want to kick Shiro out," he said.

Kagome's eyes widened a bit in surprise again, but then she smirked.

"Yes, sir."

She then clapped her hands to get Shiro's attention. "Shiro! Come on boy!"

Excited, the dog jumped down off the bed and ran up to her.

"Come on, Shiro, out," she said then, gesturing for the dog to go through the door. "Sorry boy."

Understanding, though of course not _really_ understanding, a noticeably less happy Shiro nonetheless obeyed and exited the hanyou's bedroom.

Kagome closed the door, then turning back to face Inuyasha, she said, "Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

"Don't got a specific game plan," he said shyly, a dark blush suddenly staining his cheeks. "I just thought, well...tonight would be the best night to just...see what happens."

Kagome's smile became more tender, less amused, as she agreed, "Sounds good."

Climbing into bed, then, she stayed on her left side, facing him, rather than turning onto her right so he could spoon up against her. For a moment they just looked into each other's eyes, the bedside lamp still on so they could see although it was a dim, soft light. Just when Kagome was about to take the initiative, Inuyasha was actually the one who leaned in for a kiss, his eyelids drifting shut.

The kiss was soft and gentle at first, Kagome noticing the lack of fangs pretty quickly when she turned up the heat and began exploring his mouth with her tongue, and it wasn't a one-sided exploration for long as Inuyasha got braver, comparing her taste to when he had his hanyou senses. While everything was dulled right now, like the smell and taste equivalent of hearing muffled by earplugs, and indeed his hearing _was_ muffled at the moment because he could no longer hear her heartbeat and he could barely hear her breathing, it didn't matter because his emotions were so much stronger; he felt like he was going to burst with how much he loved her.

And not a sexual 'burst', although that part of him was definitely rising to the occasion. It didn't take long for Kagome to notice, either, as her hands began exploring his exposed upper body before working their way down. Inuyasha moaned into the kiss as she wrapped her hand around his flannel covered excitement and squeezed gently.

His hands were suddenly everywhere, cupping her breasts above her pajamas, cupping her breasts _below_ her pajamas, snaking down lower to caress her womanhood against her panties, and Kagome would have wondered if this was the same man, and what had happened to her shy, hesitant hanyou, if she didn't understand the nature of his human transformation. Technically he _was_ still the same man, but he was experiencing a chemical change in his brain at the moment, which affected his behavior. His senses might've been dulled, but his emotions were amplified, and no longer warring between human and canine. He was high on human hormones and she was loving every minute of it, even though if she were being completely honest, she preferred his hanyou self.

She wasn't about to tell him that right _now_ and risk ruining the moment, though, because his human self was still a valid part of him and she loved _him_ , which meant she loved _every_ part of him, including his human alter ego. She could also understand why he had apparently been planning for tonight, for more reasons than just his human emotions. As the hanyou-turned-human got braver and started rubbing her through her panties, with his _clawless_ fingers, besides it being Kagome's turn to moan into the kiss, she responded by spreading her legs to grant him better access.

She didn't fear his claws, but admittedly, maybe he had a point. Some things were probably safer, or at least easier, without them.

She gasped and squeezed down on his clothed manhood when he snuck his fingers past the barrier of her panties, her body already aroused as he touched her most sensitive flesh. He faltered for half a second because of her squeeze, but then resumed his exploration, and Kagome moaned louder, kissing him passionately while slipping her own hand inside his pajama pants. He wasn't wearing any underwear.

He pulled his head back out of the kiss and rested his forehead against her shoulder when she started stroking him. His hips rolled of their own accord, and with his free hand he tugged down on his pants enough to free himself. Kagome glanced down then, watching as she worked, biting her lip to keep from crying out too loudly a few times when he touched her _just_ right.

Upping her game, Inuyasha shuddered, and mumbling into her shoulder, he said, "I want you so badly, but you first. Show me what to do."

Removing her hand from him, Kagome took a quick second to strip out of her clothes, Inuyasha tugging his pajama bottoms the rest of the way off as well. Then Kagome suggested they switch positions so that he could use his right hand, since while his left hand was talented in its own right she knew he was actually right handed. The hanyou-turned-human obeyed without complaint, his eyes eagerly soaking in her nude form, his body throbbing with need. Kagome lied down on her back on his usual side of the bed, Inuyasha lying beside her propped up on his left elbow, and then his right hand was between her legs again.

"Am I doing it right?" he asked her sincerely.

Wordlessly, Kagome took his hand in hers and guided his movements for a moment, showing him how she liked it best. She showed him what to do, and then she let go. She would have reached across to grip him again, but instead she just clung to the sheets with both hands as fists. He was a _fast_ learner, and it was all Kagome could do to just lie there and take it, her eyes pinched tightly closed.

Inuyasha studied her face closely. Even though she hadn't said a word, she was speaking volumes every time she scrunched up her face or bit her lip. Every quiet moan or gasp was music to his ears. Every quiver of her stomach muscles and every time her hands tightened in the sheets were incentives to _keep going_ , especially when she started to whisper "Don't stop."

She was flushed, and sweaty, and she'd never looked so beautiful. Her breasts were sagging to either side, her daintily trimmed raven curls concealing what his fingers were doing from his eyes although he could feel every inch of her. His sense of touch was all he needed when in his mind's eye he could conjure up the images he'd seen on the TV, not that he wanted, or needed, to think of any woman besides Kagome. Adult programming had enabled him to have an idea of what he was doing, but Kagome had always been the only one he wanted. To see his miko stretched out before him like this was the most erotic thing he'd ever seen and far beyond anything his imagination could have created.

When it hit her, it hit her _hard_ , and while she didn't cry out so loudly the neighbors would hear, she didn't try to stifle the sound, either. Crying out in a sort of half moan, half scream, her body started to shake, and having no idea when he should stop – the last thing Inuyasha wanted to do was to accidentally stop too soon and ruin it for her – he kept right on going until she told him otherwise.

She endured as much as she could, but after a moment Kagome's desperate sounding airy whisper commanded "Okay stop!" at the same time she grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away.

He complied, smiling down at her, and as she opened her eyes to see his smiling face above her she reached up and pulled his head down into a languid kiss. He complied with that as well, even as a certain part of his body protested being ignored for so long.

"Kagome," he murmured huskily against her mouth after a moment. "I need you."

"Then get over here," she answered.

Not needing to be told twice, he climbed up on top of her, and her hands were on him in an instant, at first just in a loving embrace as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him to her as she rubbed his back up and down. Opening her legs, she let him settle into place between them, and she couldn't miss his near silent hiss at the contact. Not with the way he'd buried his face in the crook of her neck. Then her right hand was snaking down between them, gripping him once more, and he moaned.

"Ready?" she asked him.

"I don't think I _can_ be ready for something like this," he said with a quiet laugh, as he pulled his face out of her shoulder to meet her eyes again. "But that said, I'm not waiting a second longer."

With that, he pressed forward, and his eyes almost rolled back in his head at the difference in sensation compared to his, or even Kagome's hand.

"Holy fucking kami," he murmured under his breath.

"A holy kami, indeed. The kami of fucking," Kagome snickered.

He playfully glared down at her, but the expression morphed into a silent scream with an open mouth and eyes pinched shut, as he retracted his hips before immediately pushing forward again, a bit faster this time.

"How the fuck do the men in adult movies last so long? Holy shit I can hardly move," he confessed, meeting her eyes to gauge her reaction.

"Probably a numbing agent," Kagome answered thoughtfully regarding his question, meeting his eyes lovingly.

"Well that would suck," he chuckled. "Way to make the best job on the planet tedious and unfulfilling."

He moved again, hissing through his teeth.

"At least we know they get to enjoy it at some point. I'm not so sure about the women," Kagome added.

"No worries about that here," Inuyasha boasted.

"None whatsoever," the miko agreed.

Inuyasha started to speed up but then had to stop just as quickly, holding perfectly still a moment, eyes pinched shut again.

"It's okay," Kagome told him then. "You'll be able to last longer with more experience, but right now the sensations are just too new. Don't worry about it."

Cupping his face in her hands, she met his eyes and made sure hers were reflecting the love she felt for him. "You took care of me, now let me take care of you."

Wordlessly, he kissed her, and then began moving again. Giving in to his body's demands to _go faster_ , he picked up the tempo until he was moving as fast as he could, limited to a human's speed as he was at the moment. Kagome certainly had no complaints. In fact, she surprised him by pulling her legs back at the knees, and as he pushed himself up onto his arms for better leverage she hooked her legs onto his shoulders. He only lasted a few seconds like that, then gave a strained cry so loud Shiro started barking from his spot on the other side of the closed bedroom door.

Hanyou and miko both lost it, then, laughing jovially as he collapsed against her. They both "Oomph"d from the collision and ended up laughing even harder, while Shiro whimpered and started scratching at the door.

"It's okay, Shiro!" Kagome called out between snickers. The dog quieted down, but they kept chuckling for a moment longer.

"Definitely a good thing he's locked out," Inuyasha said, envisioning the dog jumping up onto the bed while he was still tangled up with Kagome and vulnerable, Shiro licking his naked ass or something ridiculous. The thought had him snorting again in amusement.

Kissing Kagome again, then, just a loving open-mouthed contact without tongue, he slowly pulled away from her, sucking in air through his teeth at the sensation. He was still a bit sensitive at the moment.

"Well, that was fun," Kagome said as he flopped down on his back beside her.

Momentarily resting the back of his left forearm against his forehead, he just laughed again, then letting his arm fall to bounce a bit on the mattress between them, he turned his head to meet her eyes and sincerely told her, "Thank you. For everything."

Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but Shiro started scratching at the door again, and closing her mouth, the she rolled her eyes instead.

"Yes Shiro, just a minute," she said.

Shaking her head as she climbed out of bed, she glanced Inuyasha's way, the hanyou still lying on his back on the bed, the blankets bunched down, his nude form on full display in the low light. As she started pulling her clothes back on – as much as she'd have loved to snuggle with him naked, letting Shiro in while they were both nude was probably _not_ a good idea – she raised an eyebrow at her temporarily human boyfriend and asked him, "So, does it also turn white at sunrise?"

A nod of her head in his direction, her eyes making a show of scanning his body up and down, made it beyond obvious what she was referring to, as if there were possibly any question in the first place. His softening member was resting oh so innocently in a thick nest of raven curls, but that part of him would indeed look quite different at sunrise.

Reaching for his own pajama bottoms, then, not because she was staring at him but because she was about to let the dog in, he replied honestly with, "Turns into white _fur,_ as soft as my ears. You'll love it."

Giggling, she asked, "Well then if you're so convinced of that, why the hesitation last night?"

"Because...well, you'll find out eventually, because I _don't_ plan on our intimacy only being a monthly thing, so okay I'll tell you. My... _it_...doesn't look fully human, when I'm hanyou."

Kagome actually rolled her eyes.

"I don't care if it looks just like Shiro's," she said, laughing but also being completely honest. "I _love_ you. You didn't honestly think I would be grossed out, did you?"

"I'd hoped not, but can ya blame a guy for being insecure about his dog dick?" He snickered as he said it.

"Makes me wonder if your mother and father-"

"I _don't_ want to think about _that_ _,_ " he interrupted, and giggling again, Kagome dropped it and moved to open the door.

Shiro nearly knocked her over as he jumped up on her in his excitement, and then he started sniffing her like crazy. "Gah!" she laughed, running out of the room for a moment to get cleaned up in the bathroom.

Shiro started to follow her, but after she closed herself in the bathroom the akita was back in Inuyasha's bedroom and on the bed, giving the hanyou-turned-human a ton of kisses while making cutesie whimpering noises he could still understand because his knowledge didn't change when he turned human, although his current vocal cords lacked the ability to reply with his own proper barks and yips. He had to settle for words as he laughingly apologized to the overgrown pup about being locked out. Then Shiro started sniffing and then _licking_ the bed, and Inuyasha had to shoo the akita away from the wet spot that was thankfully on _his_ side of the bed. He didn't feel like changing the sheets right then so he'd worry about it tomorrow. Actually, he was looking forward to getting his own canine sense of smell back. He was sure there was a heady perfume in his entire room that he was totally missing.

Kagome came back a couple minutes later, after donning a clean pair of panties, and then climbed back into bed in her customary spot. Shiro attacked her with kisses again, and she indulged him for a minute before finally telling him to get down to the foot of the bed, Inuyasha having fixed their blankets while she was gone.

"Goodnight," she said, leaning in for a quick kiss.

"Yes, yes it was," he agreed, prolonging the kiss a moment, his left index finger hooking her chin. Looking into her eyes as he pecked her on the lips one last time, he murmured, "Goodnight, mate."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

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Inuyasha was awoken by the feel of his youki returning. So was Kagome, in fact. She startled awake as his aura flared to life right beside her, but that was purely on instinct and she calmed down the instant she was actually awake. Inuyasha didn't take it personally; he was glad to know she had such good instincts. Any further thought on the matter came to an abrupt halt as he regained all his senses and could suddenly _smell_ again. His room smelled absolutely fabulous, as did the woman lying beside him, who was currently staring at him with an amused look on her face.

"What?" he asked.

"You were sniffing the air like when I bring home the fresh ramen," she pointed out, smirking.

Shiro, who'd seemingly slept right through the miko being jolted awake, lifted his head at the sound of the word 'ramen' but then laid his head back down again after realizing it was a false alarm.

Ignoring the dog, and instead of blushing at Kagome's words, Inuyasha's eyelids lowered to half mast as he held her gaze and replied with, "You smell ten times better."

Kagome was actually the one to blush a little bit at that.

"Well it's not going to last long, I'm afraid," she said then. "Because I'm getting in the shower this morning."

Inuyasha surprised her, and himself, when he asked, "Mind if I join you?"

Kagome's eyes widened a bit at the unexpected question, but her expression quickly turned into a knowing grin.

"Well that's certainly one way to get the whole 'seeing you naked in your hanyou form' issue out of the way," she said.

He shrugged the best he could, lying propped up a bit on his side as he was.

"Might as well get it over with," he said. "I certainly don't want to go back to being a shy virgin around you now that we've already mated. As far as I'm concerned, you're my wife now. Only reason we can't _really_ get married is because it's illegal, or else we would. So yes, I want to shower together. We don't have to _do_ anything except shower," he attempted to reassure her then.

She pretended to look disappointed.

"Awww, well that's no fun," she joked.

He laughed and said, "Okay, well, then in _that_ case we can do whatever you want!"

His lips quirked up a bit.

"Plus, since I'm not affected by the cold as much as you, it won't bother me to let you hog all the hot water."

Kagome snickered at that.

"Now _there's_ an offer I can't refuse," she said. "But let me have the bathroom by myself for a minute, first," she added as she got out of bed.

"Of course," he acknowledged. "I'll need my turn, and then we can hop in the shower afterwards."

"Sounds like a plan."

So it was that less than twenty minutes later, with Shiro having already been let out and currently eating breakfast downstairs, Inuyasha stood aside in the decently sized bathroom as Kagome turned the hot water on in the shower and let it run for a moment. Saying she'd be right back, Kagome ducked into her room to quickly strip out of her pajamas and underwear and, more importantly, retrieve her big fluffy bathrobe, which she put on more for comfort than modesty 'cause it was a little chilly that morning. Grabbing a couple large bath towels and a wash rag from the linen closet at the end of the hallway, she then slipped back into the bathroom, the room nice and steamy by that point, and seemingly empty, though she knew better.

Inuyasha had taken advantage of her momentary absence to get up the nerve to strip out of his own pajamas, which were now crumpled on the floor in the corner, the hanyou already in the shower. Kagome closed the bathroom door, shrugged out of her robe and hung it on the hook she'd installed on the interior of the door, exhaled quietly – though not quietly enough for the hanyou on the other side of the opaque red shower curtain to hear – and then pushed aside said shower curtain and stepped into the tub.

Inuyasha's soft groan was impossible to miss, and it made the confident miko blush slightly despite herself. Inuyasha might have seen her naked just the night before, but that didn't mean it was a sight he was already used to and so no longer found it arousing. In fact he found her _very_ arousing, which Kagome couldn't miss as she let her eyes travel up and down _his_ body.

The hanyou was dripping wet, having been under the water himself before making room for her, as she now stood with the hot water cascading down her back while they faced each other. She'd never seen his hair slicked back like that before, and his toned chest was glistening with beads of water that flowed in trails downward, encouraging her eyes to follow.

She licked her lips as she imagined licking those beads of water off his skin.

Inuyasha was fit, but lean, not an ounce of fat on him, deceptively powerful muscles in modest size wrapped in tight lightly tanned skin. He could out lift the strongest human body builder by ten times, at least, but she did not fear his demonic strength, knowing well he was capable of being quite gentle, and she did not wish he were more muscular because she actually preferred his more naturally toned appearance to that of a body builder.

Of course, his muscles weren't the only part of his physique her attention zeroed in on. She tried not to stare. Really, she did. She wasn't some virginal teenager, for crying out loud! But it was hard not to look when it was _right there_ , and already getting hard. Plus the whole point of showering together this morning was, in fact, so that she could see this part of him in hanyou form. She'd been telling the truth when she'd said she wouldn't care if it looked just like Shiro's, although the fact of the matter was she'd already known he couldn't have a dog-like sheath running up his belly because she'd felt him through his jeans while hanyou just the other day, but from his crack about having a 'dog dick' she'd still been prepared for his shape to be different, his distinctly human look probably a thing of the past.

He actually wasn't _as_ different as she'd been expecting.

His shape was mostly still human. He was definitely a _grower_ rather than a shower, but aside from it being that very distinct color red, and a little pointier than before, and a little bit of white fuzz around the peachy flesh colored base while all the rest of his pubic hair was also now white fur, as he'd said, he still looked mostly human. It certainly wasn't something she didn't want touching her. It was part of the man she loved, after all.

She was actually just about to reach out and grasp him when he subtly cleared his throat, and then tearing her gaze away from his crotch to look up into his eyes, a faint blush on his cheeks that she knew had nothing to do with the heat from the shower, he held her gaze while quietly asking, "Well?"

Smirking then, she closed the small distance between them, wrapping her left arm around his back to hold him close. "Well what?" she asked in a quiet whisper against his lips, staring him in the eyes, before closing her eyes as she captured his lips with hers. Plundering his mouth with her tongue, her right hand snaked down between their bodies to grasp his manhood.

He moaned into the kiss before savagely kissing her back, remaining barely aware enough to make sure not to accidentally hurt her with his fangs while also trying to resist the urge to rock his hips in time with her hand. Both of _his_ hands came up to cup the sides of her face after a moment, as his kisses gentled, and then as she continued to work him, his legs shaking, he pulled back from the kiss to rest his forehead against hers, his hands now on her shoulders. Kagome looked up into his eyes but his were closed, so then glancing down again, she watched with erotic pleasure as she fondled him, increasing her tempo, faint whimpers escaping his throat that she wouldn't have heard over the water if his mouth hadn't been so close.

Inuyasha was almost completely lost to sensation, but he had just enough higher thought process left to feel completely in awe over the fact that, for all the times he'd pleasured himself in the shower while pretending it was Kagome's hand, this time it _was_ Kagome's hand, and her wet, naked body, he knew, as he moved his nose to the crook of her neck while his hands slipped down to cup her breasts. Keeping his eyes closed, all he could smell was wet Kagome and the faint, lingering perfume of their joining, and that coupled with the natural raw pleasure shooting through his sensitive nerve endings was nearly enough to send him over the edge right there. It didn't help that she seemed to know _exactly_ what she was doing.

He whimpered again, and his entire body vibrated as he tightened his hold on her, his claws making dimples in the skin of her breasts although they didn't break the skin.

She hissed quietly and he immediately let go, tilting his head up and meeting her eyes again with an apologetic look in his own. "Sorry," he mumbled quietly.

Kagome met his eyes with a forgiving expression and nearly just told him it was fine until a wicked idea came to mind and she smirked while slowing her hand.

"Why don't you kiss it to make it better?" she said, cocking a single eyebrow at him when both of his brows shot up in surprise.

His surprise didn't last long, though, and then lowering his eyelids to half mast again he lowered his head as well and, at first, swiped his tongue around the outer edges of her breasts, soothing the sting left by his claws. Kagome continued to work him, her grip making it harder for him to concentrate, but he dutifully lathed both breasts with his tongue, while remaining _very_ careful of his fangs.

Then sneaky Kagome shifted her pelvis closer to his and began rubbing him against her womanhood, pleasuring herself with him.

It was more just the mental realization of that part of him – in hanyou form – touching that part of _her_ that threw him over the edge right then, rather than the physical sensation, as he looked down and saw their bodies touching in that way. He lost it immediately, without the usual warning of feeling his approaching climax building up more slowly. He didn't even have time to pull his hips back, coating the outside of her womanhood and her inner thighs. He cried out with a combination strangled gasp and grunt, his voice a whole octave higher than usual, and Kagome felt erotic tingles shoot straight through her body at the sound. She'd never been so turned on in all her life.

And Inuyasha could smell it.

Even in the water, even with their hours old mating _and_ his brand new release perfuming the air, the scent he'd come to recognize as Kagome's arousal was impossible to miss in that moment. Pulling himself away from her enough so that they could face each other fully, he tried his damnedest to mask his embarrassment by adopting a playful smirk as he stated, "Looks like I made a mess."

Kagome chuckled, and agreed with "Looks like," before then adding "I guess you'll have to clean me up."

She handed him the wash rag, which he took from her but then let it drop to the floor.

"I guess I will," he confirmed, before lowering himself to his knees in front of her.

It was Kagome's turn for her eyes to widen in surprise, and she quickly fumbled with the shower head, pushing it to the side as far as it'd go so that the two of them weren't covered in its spray, the water hitting the tiled wall instead of them.

He'd need to breathe, after all, plus she was sure he'd rather not get water in his ears if he could avoid it.

Inuyasha was indeed grateful for Kagome aiming the shower head at the wall. Then showing off his strength, he effortlessly hoisted her up by her hips and sat her feet back down on his thighs, just needing a little extra leverage as he sat in the tub with his legs underneath him, his butt resting on his heels. He kept his hands raised up on her hips to keep her steady, her right hand clutching his left wrist while her left hand was braced on the wall. He then buried his face between her legs, and her grip on his wrist tightened even more.

Used to needing to be quiet as she pleasured herself in the shower – a part of her was sure he'd still known, but that didn't mean she should have just scandalously cried out in self-satisfaction – it took the miko a moment to realize she _didn't_ have to stifle her gasps and moans in that moment.

As for Inuyasha, he was pretty sure he'd just discovered a delicacy he liked even more than freshly made ramen.

It didn't take long for Kagome to release a high pitched scream she tried to muffle halfway through by biting her lower lip, not wanting the neighbors to overhear. Carefully putting her back on her feet, then, Inuyasha stood up, and almost moved to kiss Kagome before hesitating; she saw and yanked him down into a kiss by his hair.

Finally deciding to actually _shower,_ before they ran out of hot water, hanyou and miko took turns with the hair products and soaping up with the wash rag, and then when they were done Inuyasha told Kagome to go ahead and get out and he'd be right behind her. Mildly curious, she went ahead and exited the tub, and then Inuyasha pulled the shower curtain back closed before shaking. Kagome couldn't see him do it through the dark red curtain but heard it easily in the echoing room, and when he emerged, hair now just a bit damp and puffed out in all directions, the miko couldn't help but snicker.

"Well now, come this summer you're gonna have to take me to that river you said you bathed in in the forest. It'd be fun to go swimming with you, anyway, but I _definitely_ gotta see you shake yourself dry afterwards!"

Inuyasha chuckled at her obvious amusement. He'd shaken dry on purpose, after all. He could have suppressed the desire and just toweled off, but he wanted to be himself around her, and amazingly enough _she_ wanted him to be himself around her. He'd hoped she'd find his shaking amusing, but had wanted to find out one way or the other.

"I'd love to take you to that river," he agreed then. "It's pretty deep in youkai territory, but I'd protect you, plus I know you can hold your own. Together, we make one hell of a team, just like Sango said."

oooooooooooooooooooo

The rest of the month went by fairly uneventfully.

Kagome had purchased some paintballs online not long after the new moon, plus an extra pack of black rubber blunts at the archery supply store that were especially for gluing the paintballs on to. Once those were ready they did indeed have a few fun days of 'paintball archery' out in the local bit of forest, making sure not to travel too far from the house. They never went out near as far as where Miroku and the other houshi in charge of border security typically did their walks. Kagome had also gone ahead and called the local monk, anyway, giving Miroku a heads-up about their occasional exercises in the forest, so as not to worry him if he would've ever happened to have been doing one of his walks while they were practicing and he sensed an unexpected burst of youki. Miroku had thanked her for the warning but also reassured Kagome that he would recognize Inuyasha's youki, now, and so if he ever sensed Inuyasha while he was out doing his patrols he would know it was the hanyou and wouldn't be alarmed, unless it felt like the hanyou was in distress, in which case he would still rush in to investigate, but only in case Inuyasha needed his _help_.

That Miroku had so easily accepted Inuyasha now being a part of the team, and somebody to care about and look out for, really meant a lot to both the hanyou and miko.

Besides working on their battle skills together, Inuyasha also continued to improve his woodworking skills. A lot of the time he worked on the beginning stages of his figurines on the couch while watching TV with Kagome. He was always careful not to make too much of a mess, leaning over a large cardboard tray on the floor between his feet that was perfect for catching little falling bits of wood. Kagome had finally managed to get some really good pictures of Shiro in a few different poses which Inuyasha was copying, or at least trying to, whichever photo he was duplicating at the time being displayed on his laptop which was sitting on the coffee table.

Of course, life for the hanyou wasn't _all_ dodging arrows and whittling, cooking meals for Kagome and helping her with the daily housework. They also continued to explore their fledgling relationship. Shiro didn't appreciate initially being locked out of the bedroom at night, but after putting their clothes back on they always let the dog back in for the actual sleeping part. They made love often, and in several different positions Inuyasha had joked were on his 'fucket' list. He'd been nervous to suggest _doggie style_ but Kagome had no complaints, assuring him she was no stranger to mixing things up, herself. Standing in the shower with her bent forward in front of him was another favorite, they both soon discovered. It was also during their very next shower together that _she_ got down on _her_ knees, proving to him once and for all that she was not even the least bit squeaked by his appearance as a hanyou.

It was Kagome's turn to feel self-conscious when 'that' time of the month rolled back around again, not that she wasn't aware that he'd undoubtedly been able to smell it the entire time they'd lived together. They'd never broached the subject, but knowing he'd lived with his mother her whole life Kagome had figured that he'd obviously understood, and the fact that he'd acted normally every time had confirmed that for her. Still, that night she'd fidgeted a bit in the doorway, before clearing her throat, about to ask him if he'd prefer she just sleep in her own bed for the next few nights, but before she could speak up he'd beaten her to it, telling her that they didn't have to _do_ anything for a while and could just sleep, like back in the beginning, and no, it wouldn't bother him to smell _that_ while he held her, because it had a unique scent that was very different from normal blood. She'd known how strong his nose really was when she'd accidentally cut her finger once while chopping vegetables and he'd suddenly come rushing in from the other room to make sure she was all right. That he'd known why she was hesitating in his doorway and had immediately said the right thing to put her mind at ease...she'd already had no doubt of his love for her by that point, but all the little things he continued to do and say just really brought it home for her time after time. She hoped she continued to show him in all sorts of little ways just how much she loved him, too.

Of course, they had to put a halt to their outward displays of affection when, after Sango phoned one morning, wondering if it would be okay for she and Miroku to come over for a visit, Kagome ended up inviting the couple over for dinner that evening. Sango had assured the miko that her desire for a visit wasn't in any sort of capacity as a higher ranking official in the Spiritual Forces, like she was checking up on her or something; the slayer just wanted a chance to get to know Kagome better, off the battlefield.

The reason, Sango revealed once she and Miroku were over and the four of them were visiting in the living room before dinner, was because not too many other people in their line of work shared her and her husband's view when it came to youkai. That being that they deserved the same rights as any other living creature, and shouldn't just be purified willy-nilly because it was easier, like some _other_ reiki users were wont to do. They especially thought that _humanoid_ youkai, which in their minds _were_ another type of people, should be treated with respect, and that included hanyou.

True, the taijiya bred certain lower youkai animals to be service youkai, like nekomata. Kirara, whom they'd brought with them and was currently relaxing in Sango's arms, wasn't the only one in service, although she happened to be the only one in _their_ small group, for their town. Larger taijiya groups in the big cities usually had at least two. And nekomata weren't the only species in use, either. A lower type of inu-youkai was also in use in some places, though _not_ inugami because those were created through the torture and brutal death of mortal dogs and while possession of one wasn't technically illegal _creation_ of one was.

But just because the taijiya were used to utilizing certain lower youkai species as service youkai didn't mean most of them wouldn't still slaughter whatever random youkai happened to be found in town without giving the matter a second thought. Human safety had to come first, of course, but in Sango's mind, and thankfully her father's as well which was why _their_ team had a higher success rate of live captures than some other teams out there, killing should be left as a last resort in most cases.

Despite today's modern view on human/youkai interactions, there were also historical records of friendships between certain monks and tanuki from hundreds of years ago, or a kitsune who might have decided to help mankind here and there, but nowadays it was deemed that shape-shifters commonly known for being tricksters could not be trusted. Thankfully, because they _could_ shape-shift into humans they were not usually so quickly 'put down' like some other youkai were, captured alive and released back into the forest instead, but humans as a whole had still lost their ability to truly respect them as sentient beings. A lot of people considered shifters like kitsune, and even hanyou like Inuyasha, as not much more than glorified animals that just happened to know how to talk. Sango was just grateful that this oversight when it came to hanyou had at least meant there were no rules excluding them from being registered as service youkai. Inuyasha was definitely the first, and technically the agency viewed him no differently than any other service youkai, but it was because Sango and Miroku knew Kagome did _not_ share that viewpoint that they had both decided they wanted to get to know the miko, and hanyou, better. Hopefully even become their friends, since the monk and slayer didn't really have any other friends to speak of. Not _close_ friends, at least. Not with Kirara in their lives. Most people they met tended to be wary of her.

Inuyasha was wary too, at first, of the humans not the nekomata, and understandably so, but the way Sango and Miroku spoke to him directly as if they really did view him as a person was undeniable. How much Sango truly cared for her feline companion, and even more importantly that Kirara loved her back, was also undeniable. A quick glance shared between hanyou and miko had them both silently agreeing that Sango and Miroku shouldn't know _everything_ , but if they really thought of him as a person and accepted that he and Kagome were _friends_ , then having the human couple as friends, as well, might not be such a bad thing.

At Inuyasha's subtle nod Kagome told them, then, that they would love to consider them friends, admitting that they didn't have any other friends, either, although she was careful how she phrased it. She spoke of _Inuyasha's_ need for other friends, as the only people he interacted with were herself and her family, and that she didn't have much of a social life herself for reasons it sounded like Sango and Miroku could relate to. Let them take from that that nobody wanted to be her friend because of her 'pet' hanyou. Of course, they also knew that until just recently the miko had been harboring Inuyasha illegally, and so of _course_ it would have been hard for her to make friends with such a secret.

Careful not to refer to Inuyasha and herself simply as 'we' too many times, watching how she talked to not sound like they were a couple, Kagome told the monk and slayer, then, that they were welcome to come over from time to time, and Sango also said that the two of them were welcome in her and Miroku's home, as well. Miroku playfully added that that didn't mean, however, that he would go easy on them during their monthly field training. Sango had to give those battle simulations her all and he would expect nothing less from the hanyou and miko.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, but in playful challenge, and simply replied, "You're on."

Kagome excused herself to begin fixing dinner after that, her plan for something simple that wouldn't take too long. They'd discussed it before their 'company' had arrived and she'd gotten Inuyasha to agree that it'd be best if he just let her handle the cooking. At least until they got to know the monk and slayer better. Just because they claimed to view Inuyasha as a person didn't mean they should reveal just how human-like aka 'normal' he really was. They didn't need to know he knew how to cook.

Inuyasha expertly cut off any possible questions Miroku or Sango might've had for him in the few minutes Kagome was in the kitchen by asking the monk to tell him more about himself, first. Like those shikigami, for example, since Miroku had just recently been teasing that he wouldn't go easy on them during training. Inuyasha asked the houshi how he'd learned how to create such things, and the monk was still talking about his years of spiritual training by the time Kagome announced dinner was ready.

Dinner was pleasant, and the evening ended with everyone agreeing that they'd have to do it again sometime soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

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December's field exercises started off similarly to last month's in a lot of ways. Whereas in November only part of the team had participated, on Saturday December 1st their entire fighting group initially faced off against a large collection of Miroku's fake oni. A backup team was stationed in their hometown for the day just in case there was a local youkai emergency while everyone was training in the city.

There was no specific rhyme or reason to the massive collection of oni he created, it was just a group exercise where everyone was given their own oni to deal with, because sometimes that was the way it worked out, that any given fighter could wind up dealing with a particular youkai alone, because their teammates were busy. The key in such a situation was to find that balance between worrying about yourself and not allowing yourself to become distracted by what was happening with a colleague, while at the same time still maintaining enough situational awareness to be able to aid your teammates if at all possible.

Of course, just like last time there was a bit of a snowball effect, as the first few people, Kagome and Inuyasha included, killed their initial oni and then moved on to assist the others. It became easier and easier to take care of each remaining oni with more people able to team up as the number of oni continued to dwindle. Once they were finally all dealt with everyone took a break, and then it was time for a second, different exercise.

This time, Miroku actually asked Kagome for her help in setting things up.

For their second exercise of the day, Miroku only created one single shikigami...that put Godzilla to shame. The houshi needed Kagome's help to power the thing before they began, it was so large, the two of them sitting together in concentration as the giant monster grew in size like a parade balloon filling with air.

Once it was ready and Miroku 'released' it, Kagome and Inuyasha, Sango with Kirara, her father, brother, and their entire fighting team, all rushed in to take on the giant monster together. Because it was stronger than the previous shikigami oni, supercharged with both Miroku's _and_ Kagome's reiki as it was, this beast could take a lot more damage before succumbing, so just because everyone was attacking it at the same time did not mean they would be able to deal with it in short order. Especially when even taijiya forged blades just bounced off its thickest scales. Some beasts were heavily armored like that in real life, and so the trick in such situations was always to hopefully find their most vulnerable spots.

Kagome's arrows also had less effect, both because of how much reiki was powering the beast just generally speaking _and_ because some of that reiki was her own, but it was good training because Kagome certainly wasn't 'all powerful' and a more powerful youkai _would_ be able to survive a few arrow hits. She also couldn't cheat by pulling some of her reiki back out of the beast in order to weaken it because retracting one's own reiki from a shikigami was visible, at least to those with the sight. Miroku once again was not participating in this battle and instead was a silent observer, so he wouldn't miss it if she pulled a stunt like that, not that she ever _would_ because Kagome wasn't a cheater. She wouldn't be pulling her reiki back out of the shikigami unless Miroku commanded it, the houshi pulling out his reiki as well because the monster was headed for freedom or something.

So far, though, they had it pinned in the center of their closed off training area, and Kagome had no intention of letting it get anywhere _near_ the civilians on the other side of the fence.

With the massive beast slowly advancing towards the fighters everyone attacked it head on, which meant Inuyasha was free to slash at it with his youki, as well, and Kagome could fire her arrows without having to keep mental tabs on where Inuyasha and Kirara were. Sango was atop the nekomata throwing Hiraikotsu towards the monster's head, but it was unfortunately able to bat her giant boomerang out of the way with its powerful arms. Same with Kagome's arrows that had been aimed at its face; a well timed raise of an arm meant that its forearms each had a couple arrows embedded in them, rather than the eyes she had been aiming at.

Every jolt of reiki it took weakened it a little bit more, though, making it both slower to block additional attacks and more susceptible to them; an accumulative effect. After a third purifying arrow landed in its left arm, one of Inuyasha's slashes successfully severed that same arm, which turned into bits of paper that floated down on the breeze, separated from the rest of the body that still stood and still advanced towards them. Missing an arm, it couldn't properly deflect Hiraikotsu from that side anymore, and swooping around to attack from behind, Sango nearly severed the beast's head, her boomerang slicing through the left side of its neck from back to front. Only turning the other way at the last second, out of her attack, had saved its head, the artificial youkai at least acting as if it were alive and wanted to stay that way.

The only unrealistic thing about fighting such shikigami was the lack of blood. Despite its behavior, it looked more like a piñata being hacked to pieces, because that's essentially what it was, but that didn't stop Inuyasha from getting into the spirit of things as he jumped up onto the left side of the beast's back, making sure to shout out "I'm going in!" to warn the various taijiya about watching where they swung their weapons. He was wearing his fire-rat robes, true, but taijiya weapons were designed to combat youkai. A regular sword would just bounce off his suikan, but not taijiya forged blades.

The faux youkai started violently twisting and turning as it tried to dislodge the hanyou climbing up its back, trying and failing to reach for him with its one remaining arm, but digging his claws in, Inuyasha just went along for the ride as he climbed his way up to the head and then, leaping away from the beast by kicking off of its shoulder, he quickly aimed a swipe of _Sankon Tessou_ right for the damage Sango had already created, severing the head even more.

Inuyasha was prepared for a hard landing, launching himself up into the air from the beast's shoulder having made him over twice as high in the air as he could ever go from his own leaps from the ground, but suddenly Sango was underneath him with Kirara, giving him a much gentler landing on the back of the nekomata, behind the slayer.

"Thanks for the ride!" he said, shouting to be heard over the shikigami's constant roaring.

"My pleasure!" Sango shouted back, before hefting up Hiraikotsu. "Now let's finish this!"

Inuyasha ducked down low so that Sango could swing the massive bone boomerang around overhead, building up her momentum, and then the projectile was underway, aimed yet again for that same spot, and this time, thanks to the extra damage Inuyasha's youki blades had done, her boomerang was able to finish the job. The shikigami's head came clean off, and for just a moment the severed head started to fall from the body, and then the entire beast turned back into broken bits of paper that rained down all around them.

Kagome grinned and nodded Sango and Inuyasha's way as Kirara landed, and then retrieving the arrows that'd remained intact, Kagome then walked up to Miroku and asked him what he had planned for tomorrow.

"Oh, you'll see," was his foreboding warning, an evil grin spreading his lips that had Sango rolling her eyes as she approached her husband.

"I just hope there's not another youkai the size of a skyscraper," the miko said.

Miroku should have warned her to be careful what she wished for.

The next day the houshi did not, in fact, have their team face off against a single giant youkai, or even another horde of differently shaped oni, but instead they were all pitted against _hundreds_ of tiny rat-youkai. They were easy enough to kill, there was just a _lot_ of them, and because there was no holy barrier surrounding their training site Miroku came up with another fail-safe, seeing as he couldn't keep track of where each and every one of his rats ran off to. All shikigami had limited lifespans, but usually for training purposes he gave his shikigami a huge enough power boost that they'd last for several hours, long enough to be slain. These rats, on the other hand, only had about a twenty minute lifespan. They also weren't abnormally fast, or strong, but rather were actually pretty on par with mortal rats. In real life about the only differences between mortal rats and their naturally occurring demonic counterparts, besides subtle differences in appearance, were the ravenous appetites of the latter, and their inability to be injured by conventional means. They were easy enough to kill for our warriors only because they had weaponry designed to kill youkai. Whereas a regular sword would bounce off a demonic rat's body, a taijiya forged blade sliced through them as cleanly as a regular sword would slice through a regular rat. A normally messy process, but thankfully these guys just reverted back to paper, making the training area look like someone had thrown fistfuls of confetti everywhere.

Hell rats summoned through magic portals would be a different matter entirely, of course, but there thankfully hadn't been a recorded instance of those frightfully nasty things since Feudal times, when the last known anthropomorphic rat-youkai lord and his magic portal were destroyed. Even taijiya couldn't deal with magically conjured demon rats that would just duplicate when you sliced them in half and could pick a human body clean to the bones in a matter of seconds. Thankfully, with the increase in reiki wielding humans, the biggest threats to humanity had been dealt with centuries ago, and all that remained now, as far as rat-youkai were concerned, were the ones native to _this_ plane of existence, that had evolved spiritually from mortal rats once upon a time.

Their closed off training area was big enough that, by releasing the shikigami rats right smack in the center, with only a twenty minute lifespan none of them should live long enough to make it to the outer fence, and even if one or more of them did, they'd 'die' and turn back into paper within minutes, so they wouldn't stay in rat form long enough to cause any harm on the outside. They also looked like regular black rats, save having red eyes and fangs instead of black eyes and buck teeth, something that most people probably wouldn't notice if they just happened to see one scurrying about outside the training grounds. Also, being Miroku's shikigami, these rats had no actual desire to consume human flesh, and so while he'd made them inclined to run towards the fighters, they would not actually bite anyone.

A black-hearted reiki user could make more evil shikigami that _did_ have the desire to harm humans, or at least act like they felt such a desire since in reality shikigami felt nothing at all, but Miroku deliberately made his shikigami mimic youkai behavior only up to a certain point, without actually being able to hurt anyone. He never wanted anyone to accidentally get injured while training, after all.

So it was that as the massive group of rat-youkai were brought to life, and most of them ran straight towards our group of fighters, it was distinctly not in a scary, rabid sort of way, and for a fleeting moment Kagome imagined that if she lied down they'd all just climb all over her like the bunnies of Rabbit Island. She knew not to giggle, though, as she watched her teammates swing their weapons at the incoming rodents. The taijiya also used their stint pellets, of course, which incapacitated the rats that came into contact with the gas, just as it would in real life, but the tiny shikigami still had to be killed one by one even while they were temporarily 'unconscious'.

Careful not to get a snootful of the gas, Inuyasha had a blast dealing with his own group of rats. Literally, when swipes of his claws launched blades of youki towards the vermin that took out not only several rats at once, but also chunks of old parking lot asphalt along with them, which had the few survivors turning tail to run away from him. He was eager for the hunt, chasing them down and slicing into them with his claws, especially the ones that ran into the various abandoned buildings. While they didn't smell of rat-youkai, a scent he knew quite well, in fact, they still had a unique scent all their own that he was easily able to track, as was Kirara, who stayed on the ground but in her large form, chasing the escaping rats into different buildings as well. Kagome, grateful that she'd brought her blunted arrows in addition to the standard ones, fired a blunt arrow towards the ground as a large group of rats approached her position, the projectile releasing a large burst of reiki as it struck the pavement that took out all the rats in close enough proximity to the miko, while leaving the arrow intact so she could pick it up and fire it again.

The miko knew their relatively benign behavior was unrealistic, and that if they were dealing with _real_ rat-youkai the situation would've been much different, and much more serious, as this many rat-youkai could easily take down a human even if not as swiftly as their unnaturally occurring, portal conjured counterparts. While this type of rat-youkai couldn't eat all the meat off a human body in just a few seconds, leaving nothing but a skeleton behind, if you were attacked by a group of them they could still kill you quickly enough by going for your major arteries and causing you to bleed out.

Knowing she didn't dare let any of these rats make physical contact with her, as they could grab hold of her robes to climb up her body, she scurried backwards as if the threat were real as she hurried up to fire her blunt arrow at the ground again. Just because she didn't truly fear for her life in that moment didn't mean she didn't understand the seriousness of the training session. If she faltered and allowed some of the rats to jump her, she failed. In real life, when battling real youkai, there were no do-overs, so she had to treat this the same way.

 _Of course, if real rat-youkai ever got to me like that I could still purify the lot of them,_ she knew.

Being able to conjure up a blast of reiki would be just about the only thing that'd save your life in that situation.

Hopefully she'd never have to deal with a rat-youkai infestation in real life, though. In the wild they didn't live in such large colonies, and they were also preyed upon by many larger youkai species, which helped keep their numbers under control. The type of scenario Miroku had set up for them was what could theoretically happen if just a couple of rat-youkai somehow wound up in a large building, like a factory, where they'd then been free to multiply unhindered. Their main food source in the wild was actually dead youkai, as most mortal carrion eaters could not digest demonic flesh, but just like mortal rats they were capable of eating just about anything, and would certainly attack a living human if their numbers were great enough to overwhelm their prey, and especially if they were starving.

But our warriors were proficient at their job, including Kagome and Inuyasha. Together, thanks to everyone, Miroku announced after about seventeen minutes that they'd successfully killed each and every one of his rats, before any of them had had a chance to wink out of existence on their own.

"Well, that was interesting. It was certainly the shortest training exercise I've ever had," Kagome commented to Sango as the woman came near. "Not that I'm complaining."

"In real life a lot of calls will be short like that," Sango replied.

"Or at least you always hope they will be," Kohaku chimed in as he approached with Kirara, the nekomata walking alongside the young man still in her saber form.

She changed into her kitten form and jumped up into Kohaku's waiting arms around the same time Inuyasha came up to stand beside Kagome.

"The only hard part was resisting the urge to eat them, right Kirara?" the hanyou joked to the nekomata, who mewed her agreement.

A couple of the other taijiya crinkled their noses at the comment, perhaps actually thinking of Inuyasha as more of a person and then not appreciating the reminder of his canine nature, but Inuyasha was what he was, and while he thought hanyou deserved more recognition in the human world he wasn't going to pretend he wasn't half inu.

Kagome didn't react in surprise, of course, because she'd already known Inuyasha had had to hunt his meals in the forest after his mother's death.

Miroku also didn't think less of the hanyou he was quickly considering a friend and only joked in return with, "That would not have been pleasant."

It was Inuyasha's turn to crinkle his nose, at the thought of all that paper in his mouth, and Kagome grinned in amusement as she glanced his way before belatedly realizing she should probably not look at him so fondly in front of the others. Quickly acting more serious, then, she asked Miroku what he had planned for them next, since there was no way they were done for the day.

"You'll see," the monk replied cryptically.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes along with Sango that time.

"Well whatever it is, we're ready for it," the hanyou said.

The other fighters all chimed in with their agreement.

oooooooooooooooooooo

"That Sango is something else," Inuyasha said during the drive home.

Their second exercise of the day had consisted of _two_ dragon-like shikigami. At least they hadn't been that large, each one only about the size of an SUV. Inuyasha had gotten creative, jumping up onto the various buildings to reach even greater heights, Kagome firing arrows from his back, while Sango upon Kirara had used Hiraikotsu, nearly taking out one of the dragons all by herself. That she could handle a weapon like Hiraikotsu was impressive in and of itself, but it was actually the taijiya's relationship with her nekomata that Inuyasha found the most remarkable.

"She seems like a wonderful person," Kagome agreed, the miko definitely glad Sango had called her up like she had, wanting to become friends.

With the new moon coming up in just four days, Kagome wondered aloud about entrusting the taijiya and houshi with the secret that she and Inuyasha went out on his human nights, but ultimately thought better of it. She was sure they could probably be trusted with the information, but she wanted to wait and get to know them a little bit better, first. Inuyasha agreed, and suggested inviting them over for dinner again on a different night, saving the new moon for just the two of them, for now at least.

Besides, he had 'plans' for this upcoming human night, he told her while they were stopped at a red light, waggling his eyebrows up and down in an over-exaggerated way that had the miko snort-laughing.

Getting home, Kagome was too tired to do much of anything, including greet Shiro. A soft woof from Inuyasha had the akita mix calming down, and then Kagome squeaked in surprise when Inuyasha picked her up without warning, bridal style, and deposited her lengthwise on the couch. Shiro came up beside her and the miko just laughed as the dog proceeded to give her kisses while obviously trying to contain his enthusiasm. Inuyasha took her quiver and bow, and shoes, and told her to stay put until dinner was ready.

"Yes, sir," she joked, while reaching over to pet Shiro.

After dinner hanyou and miko shared a shower, which was now commonplace, the couple actually _just_ showering because Kagome was tired, and then they snuggled together in bed with a happy Shiro at their feet.

Over the next few days their lives resumed their usual routine. Breakfast together and then shared chores around the house, a simple lunch in front of the TV followed by Inuyasha spending some time on his carvings, then they'd prepare dinner together and eat at the dining table before retiring for the evening. The only part of their lives that didn't settle into a predictable routine was their intimacy, which still sprung up at random times throughout the day as the couple considered themselves newly weds. There were several times when one of them would just suddenly attack the other with kisses, and then whatever that person had been doing at the time was promptly dropped in favor of kissing back, which those days always led to much more than _just_ kissing. A couple times they even started fooling around immediately upon waking up, and things got pretty heated until an untimely reminder from Shiro that the akita was still in the room with them. Some laughter followed by kicking the dog out always led to them picking right back up where they'd left off, before being so _rudely_ interrupted, Kagome would joke.

On the night of the new moon, Inuyasha surprised Kagome by saying they didn't need to go out to the ramen shop. She picked up food to-go from the place often enough, and it tasted so much better when he was hanyou, anyway. Besides that, he was still a little nervous about going out on the new moon now that his existence was no longer a secret. True, it wasn't like the whole town knew about him...yet...but surely someone had seen him coming and going during their monthly training, and he also pointed out that it was really only a matter of time before everyone knew, because eventually they'd get their first real call to action and the local news always showed up to film the local youkai attacks.

Realizing he made a very good point, Kagome said they could go into the city, where it would be much less likely that either of them would ever be recognized, but conceding that they could do that in the future, going forward, for tonight, Inuyasha told her, he had _other_ plans.

They went to bed early that night, but didn't let Shiro in to go to sleep until well past midnight.

oooooooooooooooooooo

As December wore on and it got closer and closer to Christmas, holiday decorations up everywhere – including in and on their own home – Kagome and Inuyasha both began worrying about Christmas Eve dinner at the Higurashi shrine. They would obviously be invited; they had been invited _last_ year, even though last year's Christmas Eve had been just a little over five weeks after her family had originally met Inuyasha, during the hanyou's human night.

That he'd been included in their family get-together back _then_ had really meant a lot to the both of them, even though Kagome had just barely considered Inuyasha a friend at that point in time. She'd mostly just felt sorry for him, and she'd been so proud of her family for welcoming him with open arms and showing him the kindness she'd felt he deserved. Inuyasha had been a nervous wreck, at first, but her family's acceptance of him, just generally speaking, had finally calmed the hanyou's nerves about halfway through the evening, and he'd actually ended up having a really good time, as he'd talked openly about how Christmas had always been his favorite holiday, and how he and his mother had always watched all the cheesy Christmas movies together.

As this year's Christmas Eve rapidly approached, Inuyasha found that he was again a nervous wreck, but for an entirely different reason. He could only hope her family would _still_ accept him when the night was over, as they'd made the decision to come clean about their relationship. Trying not to dwell on it, though, as there was nothing he could do about it and his worrying was making _Kagome_ nervous, he tried to stay calm and confident, for her sake.

"I've got an idea," he suggested out of the blue on the Friday morning before Christmas, in desperate need of a distraction. "Let's go for a run in the forest."

"What?" she asked, her latest bite of breakfast suspended halfway to her mouth.

"Just for something to do," he replied with a shrug. "You on my back, like how we've done during training, but instead of trying to hit something with an arrow we're just running, for the fun of it. I used to run through the trees by myself whenever I had extra energy to burn. I could show you all the secret places I used to go."

"Sounds like fun!" she agreed. "I should bring my arrows, just in case we run into trouble, but yeah. Let's do it!"

That was how, a few hours later, a giddily happy hanyou and miko accidentally ended up being caught red-handed on their way back home by a familiar houshi just doing his routine patrols. Miroku didn't walk the forest _every_ day, and when he did, the area he checked was miles long; what were the odds that he'd be directly in their path just as Inuyasha made a beeline back to the house after a long day of fun?

"Well, fancy meeting you here," Miroku joked as Inuyasha came to an abrupt halt and a scarlet red Kagome dressed in a simple blouse and skirt, but with her bow and arrows, awkwardly climbed down off his back.

Miroku had sensed Inuyasha coming for a minute or so but hadn't been alarmed because he'd recognized Inuyasha's aura. It was easier to sense youki than reiki so he hadn't felt Kagome's presence as well until they'd been nearly right on top of him, due to how fast the hanyou was traveling. Kagome too had only sensed Miroku in their path with barely enough time to warn Inuyasha, and by the time he stopped they were already right in front of the houshi.

Kagome knew she had to say _something_ , but what could she say?

"Uh...we were just...that is...we were just practicing running together in case..."

Miroku put his hand up to silence Kagome's nervous rambling. He'd seen their expressions upon realizing they'd been caught, and 'caught' was definitely the right word for it based on the brief _oh shit_ looks on their faces before they'd schooled their features.

He and Sango had already wondered about those two, especially after having had dinner with them a couple more times over the last two weeks. They'd always been on their best behavior, but that was just it. The hanyou and miko had seemed rehearsed, in a way, similar to that first fateful impromptu meeting at their house. At first Miroku had chalked it up to them just being nervous around Sango and him, in general, but with Kagome saying that she'd love for the four of them to become good friends, for the hanyou and miko to have still seemed like they were holding themselves back, like they were hiding something...well, given Miroku's mindset it had only meant one thing.

His wife agreed, but Sango also had no intention of ever mentioning the proverbial elephant in the room, Miroku knew.

He was not his wife.

"Sango and Kirara go for rides sometimes, too," he said then, observing the way hanyou and miko both seemed to relax marginally at his words. He smirked, and then blurted without really thinking, "Of course, Sango's not a single lady, and Kirara's not an attractive young man. If they were, I'm sure their _rides_ would be about much more than battle practice."

Kagome's face turned as red as Inuyasha's suikan, while the hanyou adopted a protective stance in front of the stunned miko, which was all the proof Miroku needed. Neither of them tried to deny it. Kagome's mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came out. She was actually starting to look terrified, which made Miroku feel guilty. He hadn't meant to scare her. Inuyasha could clearly smell her fear, too, because his protective stance instinctively became a bit more threatening, all while never taking his eyes off the monk.

Miroku sighed, then, and felt his own cheeks warming a smidgen since it hadn't been his intention to make them this uncomfortable. Sango had warned him not to tease them, but did he listen?

 _Me and my sense of humor..._

They'd both been curious, but they'd also both agreed it was really none of their business. Because of their views when it came to humanoid youkai and hanyou, neither of them found the notion as 'disgusting' as most humans probably would. To them it was no big deal. Miroku should have known his sense of humor would land him in trouble sooner or later, though. Now, he needed to put their minds at ease.

"I was only teasing. I apologize," he began right away. "You've truly done nothing to _reveal_ anything," he wished to assure them then.

Inuyasha snorted. "Too late to deny it, though," he said.

Meeting Inuyasha's eyes, then, Miroku took a deep breath and explained, "Sango and I had already wondered. After seeing the way you two live together and hearing your story it had seemed, at least to us, only natural that feelings might develop between the two of you, or already had. Seeing the way you two always seemed to hold a part of yourselves back when we've been over also added to our suspicions. But I want to assure you both that it makes no difference to Sango or myself, and from what my wife tells me, nobody else in your fighting team suspects anything, so closed are their own minds that they automatically see you as akin to an animal. We know otherwise."

Inuyasha nodded to that, his eyes still narrowed a bit, his arms crossed defensively. Then he asked, "So what happens now?"

"Now?" Miroku repeated. "Now, I assume you two were on your way back home, and I still have the rest of my patrol to do."

"Don't be a smart-ass."

Miroku opened his mouth to reassure Inuyasha but then Kagome stepped out from behind him.

"Maybe..." She took a deep breath. "Maybe you and Sango should come over for dinner again tonight."

Miroku just nodded.

"We'll be there."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

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Dinner with the monk and slayer went better than they'd expected, even after Miroku's reassurances. As soon as they arrived, Sango hugged Kagome and then told her that her husband had already filled her in.

"So just so you know," she told the miko right away, "we'll keep your secret, obviously, no question, but we don't personally think there's anything wrong with you two being _together_ , and we'd still _love_ to be your friends."

"In fact," Miroku chimed in next, "we don't know how you two spend the new moon..."

It was in Inuyasha's file, so it had been easy enough for Sango to look up.

"...but we were thinking that the four of us could do things together, on occasion, if you wantedto that is. A small semblance of normalcy."

"That sounds like a great idea," Kagome agreed, before bravely confessing that she and Inuyasha usually did go out to eat on his human night, although they'd decided they wouldn't be dining locally anymore for fear of eventually being recognized.

Sango agreed that that was a wise precaution, although she then confirmed what Kagome had previously believed; going out with Inuyasha on his human night was not _illegal_ and there would have been no serious repercussions if they'd been discovered. Not now that he was her registered service youkai and always allowed to be out with her, at least. Him being human at the time was actually irrelevant. There were simply no specific laws on the books regarding hanyou during their human time. Hanyou were considered youkai, and youkai, including ones who could wear human guises, like kitsune, were obviously not allowed in the human world...unless registered. Shifters like kitsune couldn't presently _be_ registered, but hanyou weren't classified as shifters; rather they were merely considered whatever their youkai half was, making Inuyasha an inu-youkai, even if, technically, his human time was viewed as him 'adopting' human form.

But since genetic testing was the only way to tell the difference, reiki users unable to sense anything from hanyou while human, and reiki itself posing them no harm, there was no way for the Spiritual Forces to identify hanyou while human and so their official position on the matter was _no_ position, since there was nothing anybody could do about it. The government wasn't about to start taking everyone's DNA to make doubly sure everyone was really human. The Spiritual Forces did what they could, and that was good enough. Statistically, nation wide, it was assumed there were always some youkai, and hanyou, successfully living among humans in secret; their job was just to keep those numbers as low as possible.

Sango and Miroku had a duty to follow the rules, hence their initial reaction to Inuyasha when they'd first met him in the forest, but because they both actually sympathized with the plight of hanyou they'd already been willing to keep his existence a secret after Kagome had explained the situation, and then of course Sango had suggested registration as a way of making him legal. Because he _was_ legal, now, they weren't going to say anything to anyone about the times Kagome had taken him out on his human nights back when it actually _had_ been against the law, and they were all for the four of them doing things together, like going out to eat or going to the movies.

They discussed the various possibilities over dinner, which Inuyasha had gone ahead and cooked this time because he'd figured there was no point in trying to avoid looking 'too human' when they now knew he and Kagome were together, and were miraculously okay with it! They ended up making simple plans for January's new moon. They were going to go to the movies, something Inuyasha and Kagome actually hadn't done yet.

Kagome felt so much better getting the secret of her relationship with Inuyasha off her chest where Sango and Miroku were concerned. She hadn't felt guilty for keeping the secret, just nervous, worried what their reactions might be if they ever found out. Now that it was over and done with, and they were supportive and still wanted to be their friends, it was a tremendous weight lifted off her shoulders.

It also had her doubling down on her decision to come clean with her family on Monday, too. Nobody had ever asked her about it, yet, at least, and so she'd never actually lied to them, but she knew it was only a matter of time. Her grandfather would probably bring up 'finding a nice man' again, if not over Christmas dinner then probably on her next birthday, if they didn't come clean, and while her grandfather might not ever put two and two together Kagome was sure her mother would eventually get suspicious, assuming she wasn't already. That woman was pretty sharp. That was why she'd originally made the decision to just go ahead and tell them this coming Christmas Eve, to get it over with. A decision Inuyasha supported, of course, because she wouldn't go against his wishes if he'd told her he wasn't ready to tell them yet. He'd agreed with her. It was probably inevitable that they'd _eventually_ find out, and so in that case, the sooner the better.

That didn't mean he was looking forward to it.

But Christmas Eve was still three days away, so there was no point in panicking in advance. That was why he'd suggested they go for a run that morning, as a means of distraction, and they were both grateful for the potential disaster as a result of that decision that had instead turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise. They at least knew, now, that even if Kagome's family didn't support them, they were not all alone in the world. It was also discussed over dinner that they were going to be telling her family, and Sango and Miroku both immediately offered their emotional support, saying they would be there for the hanyou and miko no matter what. They truly were good friends.

Good friends with their own home they needed to return to, as the two couples finally said goodnight for the evening. Inuyasha and Kagome didn't _do_ anything when they went to bed that night, much to Shiro's relief, but as he held her in his arms as they drifted off to sleep together, it was one of the most peaceful nights they'd had thus far.

oooooooooooooooooooo

The next day was relatively uneventful. They decided to share a quick shower first thing that morning, after Inuyasha let Shiro out and got him his breakfast, the hanyou and miko fooling around some before starting their day. A quick and easy breakfast of microwaved egg and sausage sandwiches tided them over before getting to work on the daily morning chores. They decided to keep themselves busy that day by giving the house an extra thorough cleaning from top to bottom. There were lots of little things to dust with all the Christmas decorations up, so that took some extra time, not that they were really all _that_ dusty, but still. Cleaning the house extra well that morning meant they'd be able to spend the next day, the 23rd, binge watching Christmas movies, and skip doing any housework at all.

Sango also called at one point just to see how Kagome was doing and they ended up chatting on the phone for a while, Inuyasha taking advantage of the break to work on his carvings for a little while. Later that evening neither of them really felt like cooking dinner, so Kagome made a quick run out for some ramen, and then they had a casual dinner of eating their noodles on the couch while getting a head start on movie day, watching one of the cheesy made for TV Christmas movies Inuyasha had always used to watch with his mother. Once dinner was eaten Kagome relaxed into Inuyasha's arms. It was the perfect evening.

The next day began much the same way. A few lovey-dovey 'good morning' kisses led to them sharing a shower where they eventually took the time to actually bathe, and then it was time for breakfast. Kagome dressed into some comfy house clothes consisting of light gray sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt sans bra, since she wasn't planning on going anywhere that day. She was already thinking up ideas for dinner so she wouldn't have to do another ramen run. Inuyasha donned a pair of red sweatpants but remained shirtless as hanyou and miko made their way downstairs for breakfast.

"Hmm, looks like I'm gonna have to go to the store today, after all, unless you're okay with no bacon tomorrow morning, either," the miko said as she stared at the contents of their refrigerator. She _had_ been planning on making a simple plate of eggs and bacon that morning but had forgotten they were out of the latter.

"Just work with whatever we've got and go to the store whenever you feel like it," Inuyasha said. He was looking forward to spending the day just watching movies with her.

Checking things out further, they still had plenty of eggs, she saw, and bread.

"How does French toast sound, then?" she asked.

"Sounds good to me," he agreed.

Nodding, Kagome was just about to break the first egg against the bowl when her cellphone, which she'd forgotten upstairs, started to ring. Gently setting the egg back in the carton, then, she took the phone from Inuyasha who in only those few seconds had rushed up to his room to retrieve it and back down again. It still amazed her how fast he was when he wanted to be.

Inuyasha woofed quickly to silence Shiro who'd started barking his head off at the speeding hanyou, and then, having seen who was calling from Kagome having added the Spiritual Forces HQ as a contact, he ran back upstairs at a more normal speed to start getting dressed. There was only one reason they'd be calling.

"Higurashi," Kagome answered professionally, Inuyasha already back downstairs dressed in his fire-rat by the time she finished getting their instructions, a nervous expression on his face.

Just like he'd said not that long ago, they'd both known it was only a matter of time before they got their first call. They honestly hadn't been expecting it so soon, though. As a reservist, Kagome was only called in when the local taijiya needed backup, after all. For the usual small demonic pest in someone's attic or what have you, a warrior miko (and her hanyou) would not be required.

Heading back upstairs, herself, Kagome explained the situation to Inuyasha, who came with her while she changed into her miko robes. Apparently, on the other side of town and so in a different part of the forest, which was why she hadn't sensed anything – their entire town was shaped sort of like a knob on a jigsaw puzzle piece, a round area tucked into a cutout of forest, snuggled up against the foothills with forest all around them except in the one direction that led to the cities – three teenage boys had been attempting to capture a baby badger-youkai that morning, the kit apparently found by itself presumably while the mother had been hunting. Then the mother had shown up, catching them in the act, and she was _pissed_.

Headquarters had this information because the boys, who'd barely made it back to their car at the edge of the forest in a spot between spread out houses, were the ones who'd called it in. Two of the three boys also had bad gashes in the backs of their legs from the badger's claws and needed medical attention, but they were trapped in their car, unable to drive away because mama badger had sliced their tires and was presently _still_ trying to claw her way into their car. No word on the condition of the baby badger they'd claimed to have left behind when they'd made a run for it, but the mother's aggression had Kagome fearing the worst.

It was standard procedure to automatically call in the local warrior miko, too, when dealing with an especially aggressive youkai that had already caused human injury, so that explained why she'd been called in as well. Kagome figured the taijiya could probably handle this situation on their own, _hopefully_ just with sleeping pellets, but she was grateful to be included nonetheless. If for any reason the pellets weren't affective, and they certainly weren't foolproof, then she knew she'd be able to get those boys out of the car and to safety without harming the badger-youkai. From what she understood of the situation, mama badger definitely didn't deserve to die.

Just about ready to go, Inuyasha dashed back downstairs and made her a quick piece of buttered toast. "You'd better eat something," he said as she came downstairs to meet him and he handed her the toast. Grateful, she ate it quickly, and then they were out the door.

The drive only took a few minutes, and they arrived on the scene about the same time Sango's team did, led by her father Masaru.

The mama badger-youkai was about three times the size of her mortal counterpart, was walking on her hind legs and slashing at the car with claws the size of steak knives, carving deep gouges into the metal, two of the windows already broken out. The teens trapped inside, who kept frantically moving around inside the car towards whichever end was farthest away from wherever the slowly circling badger was, were lucky she wasn't capable of youki-based attacks like Inuyasha could dish out. They'd have been done for if she were.

Two of the taijiya immediately threw stink pellets towards the badger that were designed to render youkai unconscious, and even though he was upwind Inuyasha automatically held his breath at the sight. Unfortunately, apparently so did the badger. She emerged from the smoke cloud all fangs and claws, eyes glowing red, aiming for the taijiya who'd thrown the pellets. They were thankfully able to deflect her attacks with well-timed swings of their chained scythes, which seemed to make her think twice about attacking well armed youkai slayers, but she clearly wasn't ready to give up on her prey yet when she planted herself between the car and the fighters and threatened anyone who took even one step closer to the car. One glance past her at the boys inside told everyone time was running out for the injured two. They were looking pale and sickly, and the one who'd managed to avoid getting slashed while running away was screaming for help through the broken windows.

"This is bad," Kagome said, talking to Inuyasha who was standing beside her, unsure of what to do. He could take on that badger and win, no question, but from what she'd told him he agreed with Kagome that the mama badger didn't deserve to die.

"Something's not right," he said then. "You said the boys said they hadn't actually hurt her baby, they just dropped it and ran, but if that's true she shouldn't have abandoned her kit to continue chasing after them."

"I can get the boys out of the car," Kagome said, just as the local news crews started arriving on the scene. "Think you can go find the baby? Assuming it's unhurt that should calm her down, and if it's injured we need to see if we can help it."

"If I can get close enough to catch her scent, absolutely."

"Be careful."

"You too."

With that, Inuyasha dashed straight for the badger-youkai, who was all teeth and claws as Inuyasha approached. With most of the fighters unaware of the plan they thought Inuyasha was charging in to take the badger out and were surprised when the hanyou merely blocked her slashes with his sleeve and then veered off and dashed away into the forest.

Sango, who'd been on her way over to the miko and hanyou and so had been close enough to hear the last bit of their conversation, asked Kagome, "Are you going to try one of your blunt arrows again?"

Kagome shook her head.

"That badger-youkai might get seriously injured even by a blunt arrow. Her youki's not very strong," the miko answered.

"What do you have in mind, then?"

"A barrier."

Sango looked confused.

"I don't want to hurt her, but I'm betting she'll get out of the way to avoid being zapped," Kagome explained.

"Ah," Sango voiced in understanding.

Closing her eyes, Kagome concentrated a moment, and then a shimmering transparent blue bubble appeared around her, not too large but wider than the reach of her arms, so she could theoretically fire a purifying arrow from within the safety of her barrier if there were ever a need, although to do both at the same time was a tremendous strain on her mental energy.

Approaching the car, then, Kagome's guess had been correct in that the badger, who hissed and bared her fangs at the miko, backed slowly away at her approach, sensing the danger of her barrier and knowing not to get too close. The local news crews recorded every harrowing moment as Kagome got to the car and thankfully managed to get one of the doors open despite the vehicle's mangled appearance by that point. Kagome and the uninjured boy then each helped one of the injured boys to walk back behind the front line of taijiya warriors, who had spread out a bit to surround the area in order to prevent the badger from running deeper into town.

The local news, and bystanders with their cellphones, filmed it as medical personnel loaded the teens onto an ambulance, and then, just when it looked like the badger was planning on charging passed the fighters to reach the ambulance, or die trying, Inuyasha suddenly rushed back onto the scene, a little furry brown bundle in his arms.

"Kit's got a fucking ofuda on it!" he shouted as he approached. "I tried to take it off with a stick but it's on there good."

He'd known he didn't dare try to just rip it off with his bare hand, because he could sense there was enough reiki powering that slip of paper to possibly seal him as well, and he hadn't really felt like just lying there on the forest floor, one hand on the ofuda on badger kit's back, until someone from their team found him. Fortunately he'd known thanks to Kagome that the effects didn't travel through the body from one youkai to the next.

Kagome couldn't get close to Inuyasha with her barrier up, which she kept up in that moment as she and some of the taijiya continued to block the adult badger-youkai from running down the street after the departing ambulance, although the badger was actually now looking at the hanyou holding her immobile baby. Kohaku was the nearest taijiya to the mama badger so that was where Inuyasha headed, holding out the small limp animal in his hands with its back towards Sango's brother, while his father, Masaru, also came over.

Instead of attacking Inuyasha, as it looked like mama badger had been about to do, she stilled and tilted her head when Inuyasha told Kohaku and Masaru, "It's just a sealing ofuda. The kit's fine otherwise, but he'd sure looked dead the way those brats had just dropped him on the ground when they ran off, and even if Mama knew her kit was just sealed it's not like she could've taken the ofuda off, herself."

Kohaku did the honors of peeling off said ofuda, then, and handed it to his father, who would be filing it as evidence. The boys had admitted to trying to capture the baby badger, which was a crime in and of itself, but using an ofuda made it a little more serious, and considering none of the boys had been reiki users it also begged the question of where they'd gotten the ofuda from in the first place. It certainly implied premeditation on their parts, instead of foolish teens just deciding to take the baby when they'd seen it.

That was not Inuyasha's concern, though, as the kit in his hands, which was about the size of a human one-year-old, started to fuss and squirm in his grasp, clawing and scratching at his arms with all four paws. Thankfully his fire-rat protected him, but he still didn't want to hold on to the kit any longer than necessary.

Masaru was worried Inuyasha was about to put the baby down from the irritated look on his face, but then before the head taijiya could instruct the hanyou on what he should do, Inuyasha was already addressing the mother badger directly. Masaru observed then, impressed, as the hanyou spoke to the adult badger-youkai so naturally.

"Your son's fine, so come on, let's get you two away from all these humans."

That said, Inuyasha turned and walked at a swift pace back towards the treeline, past the slashed remains of the boys' car, and when the mother badger-youkai lowered herself to all fours and scurried after the inu-hanyou carrying her baby nobody got in her way. Entering the edge of the forest, Inuyasha was still visible to everyone watching and recording as he gently placed the young badger kit on the ground and mother and baby immediately took off deeper into the trees, Inuyasha following after them for a bit as a precaution. Kagome lowered her barrier as they went, a sigh of relief leaving her lips both for the fact that they'd managed to avoid harming the mother, and the baby was also all right, _and_ because it was exhausting maintaining a barrier for so long. She was glad it was over.

Of course, it wasn't really _over,_ yet.

 _Now comes the 'fun' part, note the sarcasm,_ she thought, with a mental roll of her eyes she didn't dare let show on the outside, because as soon as her barrier was down the reporters for the local news channels came over, hoping for a quick interview.

At least they weren't like paparazzi vultures, shoving a camera and microphone in her face. Plus it was the same people as last time, so she felt a little more comfortable speaking with them this time around.

She was asked the usual sort of questions, at first. What had been going through her mind as she'd approached the car? Was she scared? What made her decide against using deadly force against such a violent youkai? And then, of course, they asked if she knew what was going on with that 'other' youkai, the humanoid one that had shown up with the baby badger in order for one of the taijiya to remove the ofuda. One of the reporters even mentioned having seen that youkai speaking with Kagome briefly just as they'd arrived on scene, and that even though cameras hadn't been rolling yet they'd seen him charge the badger-youkai before disappearing into the forest. Then another reporter asked if this humanoid youkai dressed in red posed a threat to their town, or if Kagome knew it was going back home into the forest now and wouldn't cause any trouble.

 _Here we go,_ she thought, keeping her professional smile firmly in place no matter what.

Answering their questions in order, she at first replied that she'd just been focused on rescuing the boys. She hadn't been afraid of the badger-youkai since she'd known it couldn't harm her through her barrier, but she'd been scared for the teens, not knowing the extent of their injuries and fearing that time was of the essence. She hadn't wanted to hurt the badger-youkai because from what they'd understood, it hadn't been an unprovoked attack, but rather, a mother protecting her baby.

"And as for the other youkai that you guys saw arrive with the baby badger-youkai he'd found sealed in the forest, our town has nothing to fear from him. He's actually mine," Kagome said then, playing her part well. "His name is Inuyasha, and he's my new service youkai. The reason he ran towards the mother badger earlier was just to get her scent, so he could find the baby, because I had suspected something must have happened to the kit to make the mother act that way. She wouldn't have left her kit alone to chase after those boys if her kit had been unharmed."

Her attempt at directing the interview back onto the subject of the badgers and those boys didn't work, of course. The reporters were just curious. She couldn't say she blamed them.

She couldn't say a lot, actually.

"How did you acquire that humanoid youkai?" she was asked right away, followed swiftly by "Or is he actually a hanyou?"

Curious minds, after all. Hanyou _were_ rare.

"Actually yes, Inuyasha is an inu-hanyou," she admitted but quickly followed up with a nonchalant, "not that it matters."

Meaning the character she was playing saw no humanity in him. He was a youkai all the same.

Addressing the first part of the question, then, she added, "I actually discovered him quite unexpectedly shortly after moving into my new home, which backs up against a part of the forest I love to go for walks in. I left him be at first, but then over time we built a sort of rapport, you could say. He's canine after all, so he ended up developing a loyalty towards me that I realized I could use on the field. Like any other service youkai out there, he's happy to help."

"As your registered service youkai, does that mean he no longer lives in the forest?" she was asked then. "Or do you just call for him and he comes?"

"I allow him to go into the forest when he needs to go for a run, but he does have a room in my house, now. It's just more convenient that way."

"And it doesn't make you nervous?"

"Not at all," she replied with a shrug. "It's no different from the many taijiya who have their own nekomata or lower inu-youkai, except in my case I have the added benefit of actually being able to communicate with him," she said with a little laugh that thankfully had the reporter chuckling as well. "I couldn't ask for a better guard dog," Kagome added, just as Inuyasha came back on the scene.

When he saw Kagome with the reporters he tried to look the other way and look busy talking to Sango, who was holding Kirara, but he easily heard one of the reporters ask Kagome to call him over and knew there was no getting out of this.

"You okay?" Sango asked quietly then.

"Fine," he replied. "We knew it was only a matter of time."

Just then, Kagome called "Inuyasha!" as if he truly were her dog.

Not in the 'sing song' way you might call your pampered pet over, but rather in the no-nonsense tone used with police dogs and the like.

Inuyasha schooled his features then immediately rushed over to Kagome's side.

"Yes, Kagome?" he asked, as if he didn't comprehend that she was in the middle of being interviewed.

Sango observed, and now that she knew the hanyou and miko personally, the difference between the _real_ them and this clearly rehearsed act they put on together when necessary was night and day.

When the reporter addressed the hanyou directly, with, "So, Inuyasha, we hear you're the newest member of our local taijiya team," his startled expression wasn't entirely an act, since he really _was_ surprised the reporter had spoken to him directly, but he rolled with it, looking nervously at Kagome, then, as if he didn't know what to say or do.

"It's all right, Inuyasha," Kagome said in an encouraging way, nodding a little.

"Yes, I'm new, and I'm happy to help," he answered then, making sure to look directly at the person who'd spoken to him and _not_ into the camera, as if he didn't know what the camera was. If his lines sounded rehearsed to the news crew, it still worked, because most people would probably just assume Kagome had told Inuyasha what to say to strangers in an owner/talking pet sort of way.

Then one of the other reporters asked him how it felt to be working with a team of humans.

"I like it," he replied. "My loyalty is to humans, so if there's a youkai that's posing a threat my job is to help protect Kagome and the other humans."

The reporter smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm sure your team is lucky to have you."

He bowed his head a little. "Thank you."

"Well, if you will excuse us," Kagome said then, taking immediate advantage in their lull of questioning. Inuyasha quickly looked to Kagome at the sound of her voice, like a loyal dog should.

"Come on, Inuyasha," she said then, still in 'master' mode, "we need to get going."

"Yes, Kagome."

Kagome and Inuyasha walked away, then, towards Sango and the others, Inuyasha easily able to pick up the various reporters all speaking into their designated cameras with things such as "Well there you have it," and "In a shocking turn of events..."

For better or worse, his secret was out, now. Hopefully _their_ secret would never be discovered, but their hometown now knew he existed, and their neighbors would know there was a hanyou living next door. They would also probably not believe the misdirection that Kagome had supposedly found him out in the woods while going for a walk. The majority of townsfolk would not know her 'new home' was _the old Takahashi place,_ but everyone in their cul-de-sac had met Kagome and would likely put two and two together.

That was a worry for another time, though. There were more pressing worries on his mind at the moment, considering tomorrow was Christmas Eve. He just wanted to go to HQ, have Kagome fill out their paperwork, and then get back home to salvage the rest of what was supposed to be movie day.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

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"Wow, time flies when you're having fun," Inuyasha muttered sarcastically as he looked at himself in his bedroom mirror, standing shirtless in a pair of jeans. He'd been dreading this evening all day.

At least yesterday afternoon and evening had been nice, snuggled up with Kagome on the couch watching movies. The badger-youkai situation hadn't taken that long to deal with and they'd been home well before lunchtime, Kagome swinging through a fast food place for some belated breakfast for the two of them on their way to HQ. They'd also watched themselves on the news last night, certain her family probably would have seen it and therefore wanting to know exactly how everything had looked through the eyes of the TV viewer.

He thought his and Kagome's performances had been pretty good, if he did say so himself. The news had to bleep his f-bomb...

 _Whoops._

...but all in all, he'd handled himself properly, and his unexpected appearance had thankfully been described by the reporter post-interview in a positive light. It was a 'shocking turn of events' that their own local warrior miko Kagome Higurashi – who was still considered brand new to the job, herself – had now acquired for herself a never before heard of _service hanyou_ , but he was 'undoubtedly a powerful asset' to the fighting team, and the reporter had concluded the on-location spot with a joking 'warning to all youkai out there' that _their_ town was now _very_ well protected.

 _But who's going to protect me from Kagome's grandfather?_ he thought, as he picked up and looked at the 'ugly' Christmas sweater Kagome had bought him for this evening.

Sighing, he pulled his sweater down over his head, at least thankful his demonic genetics meant that his hair didn't frizz out all over the place as he'd seen Kagome's hair do just a few minutes ago when she'd donned her own sweater.

He chuckled a bit at the thought.

Leaving his bedroom, then, he headed across the hall back into Kagome's room.

"Dead hanyou walking," he said as he entered and plopped down on her bed with another sigh, the miko sitting at her vanity brushing her hair.

"You'll be fine," Kagome insisted. "If my family's going to kill anyone, it'll be me."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Glancing at him in the mirror before turning around in her seat to meet his eyes directly, Kagome said, "We have to tell them eventually. I don't mind keeping our relationship a secret from society at large. In fact it's wise of us to, and I probably never would've even told Sango and Miroku had they not discovered it on accident. But keeping it a secret from my family is another matter, and the longer we wait, the worse it'll be, especially if _they_ end up finding out on accident."

Sighing over exaggeratedly, she blew her bangs out of her face and glanced up at the ceiling a moment.

"Besides, while Mom hasn't said anything, back on my birthday Jii-chan made a comment about how difficult it'll be for me to 'find a husband' while 'harboring' a hanyou," she said with air-quotes.

"Yeah, I remember," Inuyasha said with a small nod.

He'd been invited to join in Kagome's birthday celebration back in May, and her grandfather had made the comment 'discreetly' – or so he'd thought – Inuyasha talking with her brother Souta in the other room at the time. The old man hadn't really been disappointed in Kagome, per se, although you could tell he thought her ultimate purpose in life was to find a reiki wielding husband and have a child. He'd actually sounded proud of Kagome, in a way, for doing what she thought was the right thing even though it was going to bring hardship upon herself as a result.

"He was so relieved when I told him about registering you with the Spiritual Forces," Kagome continued, referring to a phone call she'd made shortly after completing said registration. "He said he was glad I no longer had to worry about keeping your presence a secret, that I no longer had to fear anything happening to you if people found out about you, and that now that you were legally allowed to live in the house with me it would, and I quote, 'make other things a lot easier,'" she said while doing air-quotes again, "now that I don't 'have to worry about anyone's reaction,' he said, and we all know what _that_ means."

"It's a valid concern, or at least it _was_ ," Inuyasha conceded. "I used to worry about the same thing, you know. How were you supposed to meet a man, get married and raise a family here, if _I'm_ here? What are the odds of finding someone willing to go along with your dirty little secret?"

Kagome nodded her understanding.

"Once upon a time it had briefly crossed my mind, as well," she admitted. "It's not the sort of thing that can be revealed on a first date, after all. I'd have to have already loved the man, trusted him with all my heart, to reveal a secret like that. Which would have meant never bringing any dates or even tentative early boyfriends over to my house, which would have been hella suspicious." She laughed. "Fortunately, I realized I was falling in love with _you_ and then the desire to try dating anyone else went right out the proverbial window."

He chuckled as well at that.

"Can't say I'm sorry about that."

"Me neither."

Adopting a more serious smile, Kagome got up from the vanity and had a seat beside him on the bed. Leaning in for a kiss, Inuyasha met her half way, gently claiming her lips with his own as his right hand came up to delicately palm her left cheek. She in turn raised _her_ right hand to capture his left ear, and backing out of the kiss, he tilted his head into her touch, his eyes closed in simple bliss.

"No matter what, we're in this together," Kagome reassured him. "I doubt my mother will be _too_ upset, and in fact it wouldn't surprise me if she already secretly suspects, but if my grandfather gets all patriarchal and makes me choose between you and the family, I'm choosing you, without hesitation."

"Kagome..."

The look in his eyes was caught somewhere between not wanting her to sacrifice anything for his sake, and feeling so humbled and loved because she was willing to do just that.

"I mean it," she assured him. "Now let's go face the music, together."

"Not Christmas music, I hope," he joked.

Kagome laughed at that. That was definitely one thing she did _not_ miss now that she no longer had her old waitressing job. A night or two of movies was one thing, but eight hours a day of carol after carol, and newfangled covers that weren't even as good as the originals, for a _month_ , was something else entirely.

Heading downstairs and out front to the car, after double checking that Shiro had a clean potty pad on the floor and enough food and water for the evening, hanyou and miko began the _long_ two minute drive to the Higurashi shrine from their house.

Inuyasha was a bundle of nerves, not that Kagome could blame him one bit. Scratching at his chest while trying not to accidentally snag a claw on the 'ugly Christmas sweater' Kagome had convinced him to wear – it wasn't really _that_ ugly, in his favorite shade of dark red with a pattern of green trees in white snow – he sighed for the umpteenth time and wondered aloud if he should've worn his fire-rat instead, for protection.

"Nobody is going to try to hurt you," Kagome insisted, as she glanced at him before looking back at the road again. "They'll have to go through _me_ first."

Her aura actually started to rise a little bit as she said it, because she was actually stone cold serious. If anyone tried to harm Inuyasha there would be _hell_ to pay.

"Kami, I fucking love you," he said. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm not giving you up without a fight. Not anymore. You had your chance, for me to sacrifice my own happiness for your sake. Too late now, you're stuck with me."

"Good."

She said it with such finality, nodding in satisfaction as they arrived at the private road that took them up the hill towards the back of the shrine property where the family home was located.

He smiled as he stared at her while she parked the car, taking in her appearance wearing a complimenting Christmas sweater to his own. Hers was primarily dark green with red deer silhouettes and white snow. She'd bought the two sweaters specifically for this evening's get-together, not that it was a holiday tradition of her family for everyone to wear one. In fact, knowing her grandfather, he would definitely be in traditional robes, because he didn't go for modern clothing. But she only wore miko robes when she was performing her duties as a miko and she wore modern clothing the rest of the time, so the look wasn't out of place for her one bit, and she'd hoped that she and Inuyasha showing up in complimenting holiday sweaters and matching dark blue jeans would actually subtly help promote the image of the two of them being a happy couple before she even managed to broach the subject. A subliminal message of sorts. Inuyasha was not only just like an ordinary man where it counted most, but he was _her_ man, dorky Christmas sweater and all.

Of course, people put sweaters on their dogs all the time, too, so the miko knew that that alone wouldn't be able to change anyone's preconceived notions of who and _what_ Inuyasha was. All she could do was hope for the best.

Heading around to the front door of the colorfully decorated family home, the protective holy barrier around the property having been lowered in anticipation of their arrival, Kagome and Inuyasha shared one last look at each other while taking simultaneous deep breaths, and then Kagome knocked on the door, below the wreath.

Mrs. Higurashi was quick to answer.

"Kagome," she admonished playfully. "Since when do you need to knock? Get on in here you two."

That said, she stepped out of the way so that her daughter and her daughter's 'companion' could enter the genkan, miko and hanyou both replacing their shoes with house slippers before entering the living room where Souta was currently playing some first person shooter video game or another on the TV.

As she turned and headed back into the kitchen, Mrs. Higurashi couldn't wipe the smile off her face, glad neither her daughter nor Inuyasha had seen it. She might not know all the details, and in fact if she were being completely honest with herself she didn't _want_ to know all the details, but as she'd gotten to know that hanyou over the last year she'd come to realize he was a warm, caring, and in fact downright charming individual. He also had a natural shyness and self-conscious uncertainty about him that she would have found more endearing if she didn't also pity him for it, knowing quite well why it was that he behaved that way. That Kagome's heart had initially gone out to him, that she'd wanted to rescue him when she'd first met him, adopt him as a stray puppy so to speak, Mrs. Higurashi hadn't blamed her daughter one bit. In fact, she'd been proud of Kagome. And now that she'd gotten to know the boy, well, Mrs. Higurashi also couldn't blame her daughter if her heart had opened up to the hanyou in _other_ ways, as well. Her performance on the news yesterday might've been completely professional, but that was just it, it had been a performance. The way Kagome spoke of Inuyasha when it was just the two of them told Mrs. Higurashi that her daughter definitely did _not_ just consider the hanyou a talking service youkai.

It was really none of her business, she knew. Kagome was twenty three years old and could do whatever she wanted. Mrs. Higurashi couldn't help it if the motherly part of her worried about her daughter's happiness, but if there was one thing she'd picked up on over the last several months whenever she'd visited with Kagome, and also when she'd run those ingredients over to Inuyasha so that he could surprise her daughter with her favorite dinner, it was that Kagome, and Inuyasha, _were_ happy.

With each other.

What all that _specifically_ entailed was the part Mrs. Higurashi knew was none of her business, but she did plan on asking her daughter about it, minus the sordid details of course. She'd nearly braved broaching the subject with Inuyasha back in October, when she'd brought him the needed ingredients for oden, but he'd politely refused her offer of staying and helping him prepare the meal and after that she hadn't wanted to seem pushy. She'd planned on striking up a conversation about Kagome in a natural way while they'd been cooking together, but the best laid plans and all that.

Still, the way he'd sounded on the phone when he'd originally asked for her help with the ingredients, and the look in his eyes when he'd thanked her for her help and told her he wanted to prepare the meal for Kagome himself, had revealed more to Mrs. Higurashi than she was sure the hanyou had intended. His feelings, at least, were abundantly clear to the older miko. Then when Kagome had called and told her about how Sango and Miroku had discovered Inuyasha's presence, and their suggestion that she register him, and that she'd already done so and he was legally registered now...the relief in Kagome's voice, the joy when she'd told her he would never have to worry, now, had also spoken volumes. Mrs. Higurashi had been waiting for the right moment to broach the subject with her daughter ever since, and when no earlier opportunity had presented itself she'd made the decision that it was definitely going to be discussed tonight.

In fact, right now, while her father-in-law was still outside dealing with the last of their shrine's visitors, seemed like as good a time as any. She wanted the opportunity to discuss things just the two of them before worrying about what her father-in-law's reaction was going to be.

Back in the living room, Souta had been explaining his latest video game to Inuyasha, the young priest and future head of the Higurashi household having zero issue with the fact that the man he was talking to was half inu-youkai.

"They've sure come a long way since Pong," Inuyasha commented offhandedly as Souta handed him the second controller.

Souta quirked a brow at him.

"Think you can keep up?"

"Oh, I'm a fast learner," Inuyasha replied, as the TV screen split to show each player their character's perspective of the battlefield.

Kagome watched, smiling, and it was the sort of smile her mother would've known anywhere when Mrs. Higurashi came back out of the kitchen and asked Kagome if she wouldn't mind helping her with some of dinner's final preparations. The truth was the elder Higurashi woman didn't need any help, especially not tonight when she'd gotten takeout for dinner, but she hadn't wanted to just ask Kagome if they could talk in front of Inuyasha and Souta.

"Uh, sure," Kagome hesitantly agreed, following her mother into the kitchen even though she knew there was nothing to do except reheat and plate the KFC dinners the older miko had picked up about half an hour ago.

Mrs. Higurashi waited until they were in the other room and out of hearing range, of Souta, at least, and then turned to her daughter and said, "Okay, Kagome, spill," but with a grin both on her lips and in her eyes that let the younger miko know her mother wasn't angry.

"Uh-ummm..." Kagome started lamely, immediately realizing what this obviously had to be about. "I was going to wait until after dinner."

"And that's fine, for your grandfather and brother," her mother agreed with a nod. "But I want to know now. Are you and Inuyasha..."

Out in the living room, the hanyou's right ear turned back towards the kitchen, but he didn't let Souta know anything was amiss as he continued shooting the enemy soldiers just like how the seventeen-year-old had shown him.

"...an item?"

Kagome squared her shoulders a bit.

"And if we are?"

"So the answer's yes, then."

"Mama..."

"Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi interrupted with a raised hand.

For a second Kagome actually thought her mother _was_ upset, but then as she lowered her hand her smile came back full force.

"Kagome you're an adult, and you can do whatever you want. You're not breaking any laws, and I'm sure there's a reason for that. There's a reason, even with all the rights in our society that youkai _don't_ have, that our government specifically did _not_ make human/youkai relations against the law. Just because youkai, and hanyou, aren't _human_ doesn't mean we don't recognize that some of them are _people_ , and there's no questioning that Inuyasha is a person. If he is the person you have chosen to be with, and if you're as happy as you seem to be, then I'm not going to forbid it. You're my baby girl, and all I want is for you to be happy."

Kagome visibly relaxed, and out in the living room Inuyasha cracked a smile Souta didn't see, the hanyou able to fully concentrate on the game he was playing while still also hearing every word being said in the kitchen.

"I am happy, Mom," Kagome confirmed then. "I've gotten to know him, and I love him. Turns out he loves me too, even though it took a while before either of us braved saying anything." She then decided to open up a bit more. "Even after our feelings came out, which was less than two months ago by the way, we discussed things rationally. He was willing to not pursue anything, for my sake. What about a husband, a family? So I don't want you or Jii-chan thinking for one moment that Inuyasha is being selfish, or manipulative, because he was willing to make the biggest sacrifice there is. _I'm_ the one who told _him_ I wanted a relationship between us. That I don't _want_ a human husband anymore, because I love _him_. I can't ignore my feelings, Mom."

"No, you can't," Mrs. Higurashi agreed, before crinkling her brow. "You two only discussed your feelings for each other _less_ than two months ago? Oh sweetie, I've suspected how you two felt for each other for longer than that!" she said with a quiet laugh. "I had assumed you two were already together."

Kagome laughed as well.

"We _have_ felt that way for a lot longer than two months, it just took us that long to brave admitting it to each other." She sighed. "It actually took me a while before I could even admit it to myself."

"I understand that feeling, too," her mother told her then. "I might not have ever fallen in love with a youkai, but I still know what it's like to question one's own heart when the feelings are new, to wonder 'is this real? is this love?' And then when your father told me out of the blue how _he_ felt, and proposed to me right there on the spot, I didn't hesitate to say yes. There's no feeling in the world quite as wonderful as realizing the person you love also feels the same way about you in return; I would never ask you, either of you, to give that up. Inuyasha is a good man, and he deserves to be happy just as much as you do. That you two can make each other happy...that makes _me_ happy."

"Thanks Mom."

Pulling her mother into a hug, Kagome had to fight back the tears that wanted to spring to her eyes.

"Now if only Jii-chan takes the news so well," Kagome said with a hesitant laugh after the brief hug was over.

"I think we should enjoy dinner first, like you planned," Mrs. Higurashi agreed.

"Speaking of, you _did_ say you wanted my help with that," Kagome stated then, as she took the various to-go containers and started making everyone's plates. The food was still warm but each plate would get a quick zap to get things sizzling again.

Part of the joy of Christmas Eve was not having to slave over a stove for dinner. If she and Inuyasha hadn't been invited she would've just gotten KFC herself, too.

Of course, there'd never been any doubt that she and Inuyasha would be spending Christmas Eve with her family. Even though it was a romantic holiday for young couples in love she couldn't very well have tried to excuse herself and Inuyasha from the family get-together for that reason. Not when that night was also when she'd planned on revealing they were a couple in the first place. One down, two to go, she figured, not that she honestly feared Souta would take the news badly. Not if the happy shouts of her brother and Inuyasha she could hear coming from the living room were any indication, as the two of them really got into whatever video game they were playing, as if they were best friends who gamed together all the time.

No, Souta wouldn't be a problem, and at that point she could only hope her grandfather wouldn't be, either, because she was going to be telling him either way. She couldn't help but worry, though, and she wasn't the only one. Inuyasha was no longer like a wary stray dog unsure of trusting humans, like he had been at the beginning of last year's Christmas Eve dinner with her family, but instead, now, he was a nervous man afraid that his girlfriend's grandfather was going to forbid their relationship.

One thing Inuyasha had going for him, though, was the fact that Kagome had registered him with the Spiritual Forces. That the hanyou had been willing to come out of hiding, publicly, and in fact declare his loyalty not only to Kagome but to mankind as a whole, willing to literally risk his life in the protection of humans against rogue youkai, said a lot about his character.

It was true that Kagome's grandfather had been glad to learn of the registration because it meant that, theoretically, Kagome no longer had to worry about hiding Inuyasha's existence from potential suitors, as if her grandfather honestly thought of Inuyasha as some sort of exotic and previously illegal _pet_ , but yet, she'd witnessed the two of them having normal conversations together in the past. Her jii-chan had talked to the hanyou about trivial things as if he were a man on more than one occasion, and so to hopefully get them talking like two men _again_ she planned on incorporating talk of both their field training exercises, and now also yesterday's incident with the badger-youkai, into tonight's dinner conversation.

She and Inuyasha had originally discussed it a few days ago, and Inuyasha knew she wanted him to join the conversation as naturally and enthusiastically as possible, when it came to discussing the various shikigami Miroku had made them fight thus far, to hopefully get _everyone_ at the table talking about it together, just one big natural conversation a bunch of people could have over dinner. It would only be natural, now, to also include discussion of what'd happened yesterday, and Inuyasha could talk about the incident from his own point of view, of tracking down the badger kit and finding the poor thing with that ofuda on his back.

There was no point in tiptoeing around what he was, of course, so the hanyou knew he didn't have to try to _not_ mention tracking the badger kit by scent, or using his youki to attack the various shikigami, but while Kagome didn't want Inuyasha pretending he was human the whole point was to illustrate that he was a perfectly normal _person,_ even if, as her mother had just pointed out, he _wasn't_ human. Not all people were humans, and that was simply a fact of life in their world; it was just that _most_ humanoid youkai kept to themselves, and out of sight, out of mind.

Kagome hoped that, with Inuyasha also being a member of the Spiritual Forces, now, and what all that entailed, it would help her family, specifically her grandfather, to see Inuyasha as a fellow spiritual warrior. He just happened to have youki instead of reiki. If her grandfather really did see Inuyasha as a person, and a good friend/roommate turned battle partner of his granddaughter, then maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be as huge of a leap in Jii-chan's mind to accept she and Inuyasha being _more_ than just friends, roommates and battle partners.

She'd find out soon enough, as her grandfather came in for the evening just then, announcing that the last visitor to the shrine had departed for the night and also that all of the protective holy wards and seals were back in place.

 _Great, that means I'm trapped here_ , Inuyasha thought even though he wasn't really _that_ afraid, and continued to play his game with Souta as if his focus wasn't split.

The holy wards were normally _always_ up, of course, because shrine grounds always had to function as a safe haven in the event of an emergency, but that her grandfather had never once expressed any disdain over the idea of having to temporarily lower the wards in order to allow Inuyasha entry onto the property went a long way to show that the holy man had already at least had the mindset that not all youkai were wicked beings. Indeed, one of the first things Kagome had told Inuyasha back in the beginning was that her family knew not all youkai were evil, and that she had been raised since childhood to not harbor prejudice against youkai.

Didn't mean they'd raised her to _harbor_ youkai, but they'd taken the news of his existence amazingly well, all things considered.

 _Now here's hoping it stays that way_ , Kagome thought, before quickly throwing on her most cheerful smile to greet her grandfather, so that he would hopefully not suspect anything was amiss.

Souta shouted his hellos from the couch, and Jii-chan grumbled something about video games and youth these days, but when he entered the living room and saw Souta and Inuyasha playing together, the game set up in two-player mode as the hanyou and his grandson worked together against the enemy soldiers controlled by the computer, he just asked, "You two gonna finish saving the day before or after dinner?"

"We're almost-" Souta started to say, before Inuyasha reached over and put the gaming unit on pause. "Hey!"

"We're not online, so this can wait," Inuyasha said to Souta with an amused grin, the seventeen-year-old's eyes flying up to meet his own in overly dramatic, shocked betrayal at him having paused the game.

Jii-chan silently nodded his approval before making his way to his room to put away his outer most priest robes and put on something more appropriate for a casual Christmas dinner. Not one of those gods awful sweaters, though, he thought with a mild snicker. What _had_ Kagome been thinking, dressing herself and her hanyou in those kami forsaken things? Reemerging from his bedroom a few short minutes later dressed in black hakama over a dark green kosode, he made his way over to the dining table just as Kagome and her mother started carrying out everyone's plates.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

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"Mm, that smells so good," Inuyasha said as he and Souta sat down at the table followed by Souta and Kagome's grandfather, who took his place at the head of the table.

Before Inuyasha could worry too much that even something as innocent as that statement could inadvertently be a reminder of his canine half, Souta chimed in, enthusiastically agreeing with, "It sure does! I _love_ KFC!"

"Me too," Inuyasha readily agreed.

Sure, it was no ramen, but who didn't love fried chicken?

Showing that he had proper table manners, though, like all his previous dinners with Kagome's family, Inuyasha didn't touch his food until everyone was seated, and then he joined in with their quick grace of "Itadakimasu!" before starting to eat.

"So, Kagome, we saw you and Inuyasha on the news last night," Mrs. Higurashi said after a moment, breaking the temporary silence.

"Yeah," Kagome replied between bites. "We certainly weren't expecting that. I'm so glad it wasn't a more serious threat, though I bet those boys have learned not to mess with baby forest youkai. Baby youkai have mothers!" she finished with a quiet laugh.

"It certainly was impressive, the way you were able to get to those boys with a barrier," her grandfather chimed in then. "I agree with what you said in the interview. That mother badger-youkai didn't deserve to be killed for just defending her kit. They're lucky to have you."

"Both of you," Mrs. Higurashi quickly added, doing her part to normalize Inuyasha's inclusion in the conversation. She briefly made eye contact with the hanyou, and the small but genuine smile and nod he sent her way let the older miko know that he'd heard. He knew she knew.

"Thank you," Inuyasha spoke up then. "Yesterday definitely caught us by surprise, but we'd known it would only be a matter of time. I'm just glad, like Kagome said, that the attacking youkai wasn't something much more dangerous. The local houshi, Miroku..."

Mrs. Higurashi nodded in recognition when Inuyasha paused briefly with a gesture towards the forest behind the property, acknowledging that yes, she knew the houshi he was referring to.

"...He's really been putting us through some worst case scenarios during our field training, with his various shikigami."

Grinning, so glad Inuyasha had taken the initiative to bring up the training before she'd even had a chance to, Kagome immediately piped up with a happy and conversational, " _That's_ putting it mildly." With a laugh she added, "This month he had the whole group of us facing off against a wannabe Godzilla, and then the next day we were outnumbered by a swarm of youkai rats!"

"A group of rats is actually called a mischief," Souta chimed in sarcastically.

Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Well _whatever_ , but there was hundreds of them."

Inuyasha almost choked on his bite of food.

"A mischief? Seriously?" Souta's mouth was full right then so he just nodded, and it was Inuyasha's turn to roll his eyes. "Rats aren't mischievous. That should be what a pack of kitsune are called. Who comes up with these names?"

Swallowing, Souta shrugged then grinned and said, "And a group of crows is called a _murder_."

"So then are like only two or three crows called an attempted murder?" Inuyasha joked.

Kagome burst out with a laugh before containing herself, but even her mother, and more importantly her _grandfather_ , were also chuckling a little bit at that one.

The rest of dinner, and dessert, went in much the same way. Pleasant conversation that gradually shifted from topic to topic, including Kagome getting caught up on Souta's latest dealings in school. The seventeen-year-old planned on going to college, to further his education, but he had no plans of a career beyond becoming a Shinto priest like their grandfather and eventually one day taking over the shrine duties.

Their grandfather spoke back up then, making a lighthearted joke about not being ready to _give up_ his post just yet – since he would be the head priest of their shrine until his death – and then he complimented Kagome once again on her decision to become a warrior miko, because that way she was also really doing her part. She'd always wanted to be able to go help in the past, when there'd been a youkai incident on the news, and so now, she actually could.

He refrained from bringing up her finding an eventual husband and raising a family again. While he was a traditional man, Jii-chan knew his Kagome was a modern woman. He'd also been able to tell from the last couple of times he'd casually mentioned something along those lines that she'd avoided giving any direct answer before then trying to nonchalantly change the subject.

He didn't want to push her.

If her plan for life had remained that of an ordinary woman, though granted a very lucky woman who'd won the lottery, then he would have felt it her duty as a reiki user to at least help raise the next generation of reiki users, but she was a warrior miko, now. Warrior miko had their own important roles in society, and so even though he would still personally prefer it if she could give him a great-grandchild within his lifetime, if her decision for the time being was to remain single and just concentrate on her new career with the Spiritual Forces, instead, he would not disapprove. It was a noble cause.

Just as he hadn't disapproved when she'd first told them about Inuyasha, although he had to admit he felt a lot better about it now that the hanyou was legal. Kagome was going to do whatever she felt was the _right_ thing to do, no matter the cost. His son and daughter-in-law had raised that girl right, and so now she was the sort of warrior miko who'd joined the ranks not only to save _human_ lives; the sort of miko who used blunted purifying arrows and sealing ofuda whenever possible. He'd been so proud of her when he'd seen her on the news dealing with that kuma-youkai in October, and he'd honestly been proud of her when she'd first told them about Inuyasha, too. He'd only worried for her own sake, for the incredible burden she'd decided to take on and the possible legal repercussions if she'd gotten caught, especially after she'd joined the Spiritual Forces.

He had worried that it would only be a matter of time before the hanyou was discovered, and he'd been right, but as fate would have it the kami had smiled upon his granddaughter once again, and Inuyasha as well, truth be told.

 _That boy has to be the luckiest hanyou to ever live,_ he thought.

Done with their Christmas cake, and deliberately choosing not to dwell on the stigma of older single _women_ called day old Christmas cake – after all, Kagome was still only twenty three, and even if she _never_ wanted to get married he would never stop loving his granddaughter – Jii-chan and the others all moved back into the family room, their gorgeous Christmas tree in the corner with five wrapped presents sitting underneath it.

Inuyasha was surprised at the sight, not having noticed the extra gift earlier when he'd been playing that video game with Souta. There had only been four presents last year, two for Kagome and two for Souta, which Kagome had rolled her eyes at at the time, telling her mother and grandfather that she didn't need anything for Christmas, to which her grandfather had simply replied with "Nonsense."

As Mrs. Higurashi had explained it, it was their prerogative to continue spoiling the two of them rotten well into adulthood, at which point Souta had chimed in that that was just fine with _him_ , and everyone had laughed.

Inuyasha hadn't felt left out last year because there hadn't been a present for him. He never in a million years would have expected a present anyway, and their very inclusion of him in their family get-together for the evening had been the exact opposite of being left out. As Mrs. Higurashi began handing out the presents in that moment, though, there really was one for him this year, from her. He was stunned.

"You...you didn't have to," he said humbly as she handed him the small box with his name on it.

"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to," Kagome's mother replied, purposefully adding, "You're part of the family, now."

Inuyasha just nodded, swallowing a little. He was trying not to cry.

He also realized it was a damn good thing he and Kagome had already agreed to come clean with her family this evening, because as it turned out, her mother wouldn't have given them a choice in the matter.

Kagome hadn't started opening either of her presents yet, and Inuyasha's nose told him she was also trying not to cry as she looked at her mother with unbridled gratitude.

Souta had started to tear into his first present, which from the partially removed wrapping paper he could already identify as one of the new video games he'd been wanting, but he paused when he could suddenly sense the thickness of emotion in the room. Their grandfather looked a cross between confused and uncomfortable as Inuyasha stared at his mother, his inhuman eyes shining with unshed tears. It took the young priest in training a second to catch up, because he hadn't been paying attention, but he'd heard what both Inuyasha and his mother had said. Now the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

 _Adults_... the teen thought, shaking his head.

"Of _course_ you're part of the family," he said to the emotional hanyou.

Kagome looked her brother's way at his words, trying to decide what he knew or suspected.

They'd had a few conversations about Inuyasha over the last year, first about how she worried what might become of Inuyasha after she was gone, and more recently about how glad she was now that he would always be protected, because his registration was transferable and should always be able to stay in the family. Her little brother had assured her that if anything tragic should happen to her he would take Inuyasha in, and that even if her house – which was presently willed to the shrine – should ultimately end up being sold, the hanyou would always have a home at the shrine itself, in the Higurashi family home.

Kagome wondered if her brother knew just how much that promise on his part had meant to her, but she suspected he didn't.

The miko had been careful to watch what she revealed of her deeper feelings during their more recent conversations about the hanyou, and Souta had never said anything to her that had implied he suspected her feelings for Inuyasha went beyond that of a loving caretaker. In fact, his words right now hadn't implied anything untoward, either, and Inuyasha had just nodded again before opening his gift, which was a set of woodcarving knives and chisels.

He'd already bought himself a few different carving knives, but this kit was much more advanced and included all sorts of differently shaped tips.

"Oh wow, thank you," he said sincerely, meeting Mrs. Higurashi's eyes with genuine gratitude in his own.

"You're welcome, Inuyasha," she replied in a loving, motherly tone. "Kagome has mentioned how proud she is of you for wanting to earn your own money, of learning how to do woodcarving. I know you already have a few beginners' tools, but I have no doubt you'll be ready for the next level before you know it."

"What's he need to earn his own money for?" Jii-chan asked then, confused. He was apparently out of the loop on the whole woodcarving thing.

"Oh, he doesn't need to, he just wants to," Kagome said, before meeting Inuyasha's eyes. They stared at each other a moment before nodding ever so slightly, hanyou and miko both silently agreeing that now was the right time.

Souta noticed the silent communication between his sister and Inuyasha and wondered what was going on, as well, his new video game from his mother and lesson book on ofuda from his grandfather both sitting forgotten off to the side.

"Kagome's just done so much for me," Inuyasha began then. "I know she doesn't need help financially. With the budget she worked out she was already set for life from just her lottery winnings, even after factoring in the added expenses of having a second person in the house, and now she's earning a modest salary on top of that for being a reservist with the Spiritual Forces. But I'm not, and even before registering I'd thought of making woodcarvings as something I could do to earn my own spending money on the side. I know I probably can't make a career out of it, and I know I don't need to anyway, but I'd like to at least earn my own fun money so that I can afford to buy myself whatever I want without having to rely on an allowance."

Souta nodded then.

"That makes sense," the young priest interjected. "You don't want to be a mooch."

"Yeah, exactly." Inuyasha agreed with a nod.

"Bah," Jii-chan waved off.

Kagome was worried her grandfather was about to say something along the lines of it not being Inuyasha's place to make his own money, being her 'service youkai' and all, but the old priest surprised her then.

"There's no way Kagome considers you a 'mooch' or a burden, financial or otherwise," he said reassuringly.

"Jii-chan..." Kagome murmured in awe, her eyes shimmering a bit with unshed tears while she grinned broadly at her grandfather.

"What?" he asked, blinking in confusion again. Then he noticed the unopened presents on her lap. "You haven't even opened your gifts yet! Come on already."

Laughing a little, she started tearing at the wrapping paper of his present.

"It's not something gross like a dried lizard tail, is it?" she asked with a chuckle as she removed the paper to reveal a plain cardboard box.

Souta laughed as well at that. Kagome would never let him live it down.

Jii-chan pretended to look stern, but you could see his own amusement in his eyes as he said, "Just open it, granddaughter."

"Okay okay," she said as she opened the box. It contained a perfectly normal, and absolutely adorable, stuffed teddy bear. "Awww..." she said then as she picked it up out of the box. "I'll have to make sure Shiro doesn't get a hold of him. Thank you!"

"A teddy bear?" Souta said, rolling his eyes.

Their grandfather just shrugged.

"What can I get for my granddaughter that the kami have not already given her?"

"I love it," Kagome interjected.

"He'll make a fine addition to the collection," Inuyasha chimed in with a smile, referring to the modest assortment of childhood stuffed animals that adorned the dresser tops in Kagome's bedroom. "I had a teddy bear when I was a kid that'd probably be worth quite a bit of money nowadays, if I still had him."

Kagome reached over and put a comforting hand on Inuyasha's hand, the hanyou and miko having been sitting relatively close to each other as the whole group of them sat on the floor near the Christmas tree. She gave the top of his hand a couple of pats, and then her grandfather cleared his throat.

She didn't yank her hand away, but she did remove it, and met Inuyasha's eyes again. It hadn't been intentional, but that was her cue.

"Jii-chan, there's something I need to tell you..." she started hesitantly, "...about me and Inuyasha."

Mrs. Higurashi just smiled encouragingly when Kagome briefly met her mother's eyes, the older miko saying nothing of her present still residing unopened on her daughter's lap. This was far more important than the silly ol' maneki neko charm bracelet she'd gotten her.

"What do you mean?" her grandfather asked. "There's not a problem with his registration, is there?"

"No no, nothing like that..."

Eyes widening, it wasn't hard for Souta to take a stab in the dark.

"Oh wait, are you two like... _together?"_ the seventeen-year-old asked, clearly surprised. He didn't seem to disapprove of the notion, though.

Wordlessly, Kagome just nodded, and then Souta said "Cool!" at the same time their grandfather said "What?!"

"Now, I think what's important here-" Mrs. Higurashi started to say in her daughter's defense, but she was interrupted by her father-in-law's accusatory, "You knew?"

"I suspected," the older miko clarified. "I didn't know if I was right until Kagome and I discussed it just earlier this evening."

"What's the big deal?" Souta asked then. "It's not even illegal. Inuyasha's a person, and two consenting adults can do whatever they want."

"That's not the point," Jii-chan said.

"Then what is the point?" Mrs. Higurashi asked a little sternly.

"Getting married and raising a family," Kagome stated, unafraid now to address the sterile elephant in the room.

Souta just shrugged.

"It's your life."

"Yes, it is," Kagome agreed, then met her grandfather's eyes again. "And just think about it this way. If I married someone, then traditionally I would be joining _his_ family. If I stay single, in the eyes of the law, then I stay a Higurashi."

Smiling at Inuyasha a moment, the young miko then added, "And just because I fell in love with Inuyasha, I haven't ruled out the possibility of having children one day. It's true that I did have dreams of raising a family, but I just can't envision that future with a human husband in it anymore, is all, because I love Inuyasha and so I don't want anybody else as my life partner."

"But you can't have a family with Inuyasha," her grandfather said then, not in an 'I forbid it!' tone of voice, but merely stating the facts.

"Sure I can," Kagome countered. "But we're not ready to take that next step, anyway. It just hasn't been ruled out is all."

"What, adoption?" Souta asked, just curious.

Kagome shrugged her shoulders a little.

"Maybe. But right now we're happy just the two of us."

"Society would consider you a single mother," her grandfather pointed out, and Kagome could tell from his tone and the look in his eyes that he wasn't just warning her about the difficulties single women faced when trying to adopt, but of the supposed stigma of being a single mother.

She was already aware of the former and didn't honestly care about the latter, and the last thing she wanted to do was get into an argument about it with her grandfather on Christmas Eve. Especially when she and Inuyasha weren't even ready to take that next step in their relationship yet, anyway.

"I'm aware of that," was all she said, before steering the conversation back to the present. "But whatever does or doesn't happen down the road, children-wise, doesn't matter right now. Right now, I just wanted my family to know that Inuyasha and I are together, romantically, and hopefully get your blessing because that's not going to change. I know we can't get married, but if we could, we would. We're in it for the long haul."

"Well _you_ are maybe," her grandfather said then. "But he won't age like you do, and he'll still be young when you're long gone."

"That doesn't mean I don't love her," Inuyasha spoke up then, figuring he'd better step up and be the _man_ he and Kagome wanted her family to see him as. "There's nothing I can do about my lifespan being different, but I will never stop loving Kagome, even when she's old and gray. We're together, till death do us part."

Looking at Inuyasha at his words, Kagome had to fight her desire to lean over and kiss him. The love she felt for him, that they felt for each other, was obvious in their eyes to the rest of her family in that moment, as hanyou and miko looked at each other.

"Well I'm fine with it," Souta said with a huge grin, his words breaking the momentary tension as hanyou and miko looked away from each other and back at the rest of her family instead.

"As am I," Mrs. Higurashi chimed in, smiling affectionately in the hanyou's direction. "That you two are happy together is undeniable," she said.

Jii-chan grumbled something under his breath that even Inuyasha didn't fully catch, but it was clear the Higurashi elder was not happy with this latest turn of events. Finally, though, he just sighed, and shook his head, and then met his granddaughter's eyes.

"You're a grown woman, so you can make your own decisions," he said. He looked back and forth between the hanyou and miko, then sighed again. "You do know if this ever gets out it'll be a horrible scandal."

Kagome sat up a little straighter, and met her grandfather's eyes.

"I don't care."

He actually smiled a little bit at that.

"There's that Higurashi spirit," he said. "You always have stood by whatever you thought was right. I guess I can't expect that to not include your heart." He chuckled a little. "Fine, fine, if this is the life you want for yourself, so be it. You're still my granddaughter, and you...and Inuyasha...are still a part of this family. Now open your mother's present already!"

Kagome laughed, and couldn't help the single tear of relief that escaped before she quickly wiped it away. That her grandfather felt uncomfortable and wanted to change the subject in order to stop thinking about it was obvious, but she respected that. The truth was out and that was all that mattered; there was no reason to keep discussing it any further. She certainly didn't want to disclose the more intimate details of her relationship with Inuyasha to the rest of her family, so wordlessly, she just nodded then and tore into the package that'd still been sitting unopened on her lap this whole time.

Thanking her mother for the adorable charm bracelet before immediately putting it on, the family visited for a short while longer but with the evening winding down it was time for Kagome and Inuyasha to get going. Kagome hugged her mother and brother and then hesitated with her grandfather before he rolled his eyes and pulled her into a hug, himself, whispering in her ear that she would always be his precious little girl and _nothing_ she could do would ever make him stop loving her. He then surprised Inuyasha by shaking the hanyou's hand and saying simply, "Don't you _dare_ ever break her heart."

Inuyasha's eyes held nothing but sincerity when he met the old man's gaze and vowed, "Never."

Jii-chan nodded in satisfaction, then, and ambled outside after the couple so that he could take down the holy barrier in order for Inuyasha to leave the property.

"That went well," Kagome said after the two of them were in her car and headed down the private driveway.

"Actually a hell of a lot better than I'd been expecting," Inuyasha admitted.

"Same."

Getting home, Inuyasha absently handed his present to Kagome when Shiro greeted them desperately at the door, immediately heading around through the kitchen and letting the overgrown pup out back to relieve himself. The dog didn't like using his potty pad and always tried to hold it, which Inuyasha appreciated even though he'd tried time and again to explain it to the akita mix that just because there was no _marking_ allowed in the house that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to _potty_ on the pad provided if they weren't home to let him out. Inuyasha wasn't complaining, though, because the alternative would be to get into a literal pissing contest with the dog, and he didn't think Kagome would appreciate it any more if _he_ marked in the house.

The miko headed upstairs while Inuyasha took care of Shiro, putting his new box of woodcarving tools with his other stuff in his bottom dresser drawer before putting her teddy bear on top of her own dresser in her room with her other stuffed animals. Putting her bracelet away in her small jewelry box next to the locket Inuyasha had given her for their anniversary, she changed out of her clothes and into her pajamas, and then took care of her own business in the bathroom while Inuyasha came upstairs and got changed after letting Shiro back in.

Settling into bed together a few minutes later, their original plan was just to go to sleep, but then Inuyasha started kissing the back of her neck, tightening his hold on her as he held her in their standard spooning embrace, his left hand moving up from her stomach to cup a breast. When his pajama clad arousal brushed up against her from behind Kagome's response was to tug down her pajama bottoms and panties enough for access before reaching back and into his pants to grasp his manhood, which he freed when he also tugged his own pajama bottoms down just enough.

"Dog?" he asked, referring to the akita mix lying peacefully at the foot of the bed, on top of the blankets that were covering both of their bodies up to their chests.

"If we don't get too wild maybe he won't notice," Kagome said, amusement in her voice, before moving her left leg enough for him to enter her from behind while they both remained lying on their sides, 'lazy dog' style.

Inuyasha sucked in air through clinched teeth. He would never get tired of the feeling of her body surround his most sensitive flesh. He also didn't plan on being the only one getting any pleasure out of this, as his left hand snaked down from her breast to start rubbing down below. It was Kagome's turn to suck in a backwards hiss, and Shiro lifted his head to glance in their direction but Inuyasha quickly woofed the equivalent of 'mind your own business' or 'leave us alone' or whatever you wanted to translate it as. The dog obeyed and put his head back down, and Inuyasha demonstrated that he was fast learner when he knew just what to do, and how to hold his hand to avoid his claws being a problem, bringing Kagome to completion in only a few short minutes.

He didn't let her come down from the high, taking that as his cue to speed up the slow, casual movements he'd been maintaining. Tightening his arm around her stomach to hold her close, he started moving as fast as he dared, humping her like the dog he was. Shiro lifted his head to look at them again but didn't otherwise move from his spot at the foot of the bed.

It didn't take Inuyasha long to find his release like that, grunting under his breath when he stilled his hips against her. He started to back away, then, but Kagome reached back and cupped his ass, stopping his retreat.

"Stay," she murmured. "I don't need to get up. We'll clean up tomorrow and wash the sheets. In the meantime, I want you right where you are."

"Kami, I fucking love you," he whispered, kissing her neck again.

Taking a deep breath, relishing in the new scents perfuming his bedroom, Inuyasha complied with his mate's wishes and settled back down to go to sleep while remaining as physically close to her as it was possible to be, as he was still _inside_ her. Gradually, after a few minutes, he softened and slipped out, but they still remained tucked intimately together, her naked backside against his nest of silvery white fur. His left hand snaked up under her pajama top but only to rest on her belly, for even more flesh on flesh contact. With Shiro having already put his head back down to go to sleep, it didn't take long for the hanyou and miko to follow their dog into dreamland, neither of them having felt this at peace since Halloween night, when they'd fallen asleep with her in his arms for the very first time, after confessing their love for one another. Now that the obstacle of telling her family was behind them, and they also had whom they were sure would turn out to be lifelong friends in Sango and Miroku, Kagome and Inuyasha couldn't ask for anything more. Life was good.


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue

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Life was kind to the hanyou and miko.

Sango and Miroku not only kept their secret as time went on, but they became very good friends for the unconventional couple. The taijiya even helped curb the spread of rumors. When somebody from their fighting group once asked her if she thought there was anything 'inappropriate' going on between the hanyou and miko, she'd answered with a disgusted, "What's the matter with you?"

Let them take from that what they would; she'd known what it implied, but since it was technically a non-answer she hadn't really been lying, and that person had never brought up the subject since.

Kagome's family was unwaveringly supportive. Her grandfather clearly wasn't thrilled, but he'd meant what he'd said and he wasn't going to lose his granddaughter over it. Kagome's mother accepted Inuyasha as her son-in-law, confirming for the hanyou what he'd felt about her early on; she really _was_ as loving and understanding as his own mother had been. Souta also hadn't been covering up any hidden feelings when he'd said he didn't have a problem with it. He'd told his older sister the next time they spoke that so long as she was happy, he was happy for her, and he'd meant it. He reiterated his promise to take care of Inuyasha in the event of anything tragic befalling her, and he also swore to keep their secret because he understood the public scrutiny she'd face if it came out and he didn't want that for her. Anyone who tried to badmouth his big sister would have _him_ to deal with.

Daily life for our favorite couple fell into a pleasant routine. Inuyasha still helped Kagome with the morning housework most days, found the time to work on his woodcarving, shared in the cooking and went on the occasional run with Shiro in the forest. The hanyou and miko also went on the occasional run, together, and also still sometimes played their own version of archery tag, either with or without the paintballs. Their monthly field training also helped maintain their battle preparedness, although so far the only youkai issues to crop up had been the less urgent kind that the taijiya could easily handle on their own. There hadn't been another incident yet like with the bear and badgers.

They still went out on new moon nights, although as agreed they now made the drive into the city instead of just eating at one of the local restaurants. If anyone at the little local ramen shop had put two and two together after Inuyasha's debut on the six o'clock news nobody ever said anything to her about it when she popped in for their to-go orders, which she still brought home fairly often.

That wasn't to say she didn't get asked about Inuyasha, now, whenever she went out to run errands in their little town. After being interviewed on the news, probably nearly everyone in their little border town knew about him. Even those who'd missed the news had probably heard about it by now from someone they knew. At places like the grocery store or gas station she'd often get something like "Oh hey, you're that new warrior miko with the hanyou!" and then she'd have to politely answer questions about what it was like to 'own' a hanyou while maintaining what she'd come to refer to as her alter ego.

At least nobody had been negative to her about it, yet. She had mentally prepared herself for backlash, maybe even protesters, but she was relieved that so far that hadn't happened. What people might be saying about her, or them, on social media she was blessedly unaware, because she wasn't a member of any of those sites and neither was he, and they planned on keeping it that way. All she cared about was how the local people around town, and especially their immediate neighbors, were going to react to her now. Granted, anyone who had a major problem with youkai, who either feared or hated them, should know better than to live on the very edge of a border town, right next to the forest, but that didn't necessarily mean they'd be cool with an inu-hanyou living _in_ their neighborhood, even though there was legally nothing anyone could do about it since he was her registered service youkai.

Thankfully, though, their neighbors in their little cul-de-sac had not only all been okay with Inuyasha's presence after learning about him, some of them had even wanted to _meet_ him. Their immediate next door neighbor on the left had even asked if he'd been the one behind the 'hauntings' and had thought it was noble of Kagome to keep the stray...not her words but clearly the way she'd viewed it, which was honestly fine with the hanyou and miko. So long as people looked at her deciding to 'adopt the hanyou' like he was a stray dog in a _positive_ way, at the end of the day that was really all that mattered.

It definitely meant, though, that they could no longer take any chances eating somewhere local during his human nights. There were ramen shops in the city, after all. Places that saw so many faces coming and going in a single day that they'd probably never recognize her even if they _had_ seen the thing on the news. And they didn't _always_ have to just go out to dinner, either. More than once, they went clubbing.

Inuyasha found that the loud club music was a lot easier to tolerate in human form, and the club they always went to didn't start carding people until after ten, so getting in without any ID was never an issue. It was also less awkward, and torturous, to dance erotically with Kagome when they were, in fact, more than just friends.

A few times they even went out with Sango and Miroku, starting with going to the movies back in January, just like they'd planned. It felt weird to the hanyou, at first, to know he and Kagome had friends, and to even go and do things with those friends out in public, but it didn't take long for Inuyasha to warm up to the taijiya and houshi when they were just so genuine, and so fun to be around. Like the time over the summer when they all went out to the county fair together, which was about an hour away in the next city over. They'd actually headed out about an hour before sunset, so that they'd have as much time at the fair as possible. Inuyasha had worn a hoodie to hide his white hair and ears from fellow travelers on the road and had transformed in the car shortly before they'd arrived at the fairgrounds. Having watched a decent number of videos taken at fairs and carnivals online, he'd never thought it would be something he'd get to experience first hand. To say he'd had a really good time would be a huge understatement.

Months turned into another whole year gone by, and then before they knew it our favorite couple had another fun Halloween night out to celebrate, except this time, Inuyasha was actually in costume. The idea the year before had been for him to enjoy the _one_ night a year that he could walk among humans as his hanyou self and no one would be the wiser, thinking that _that_ was the costume, but after the local news had outed him he didn't dare risk it, even in the city. His human nights were one thing, but surely he'd be recognized in all his hanyou glory, even if he didn't wear his fire-rat. Besides, dressing in costume was the best part of Halloween, and so this way, he got the complete experience. He admittedly enjoyed wearing the silly anime costume Kagome had put him in, with herself dressed up as another character from the same show. It was ridiculous to think of himself and Kagome as made up anime characters, but for her he'd dress up like a freakin' pokémon. Kagome had still brought his license with her, just in case, but she'd also made sure to park in a completely different area from the year before, and they successfully made it through the night and then back to the car without another 'incident' like what had happened last year, when they were confronted by that other miko.

It didn't take long for the Christmas season to roll back around after that, and Christmas Eve dinner at the Higurashi Shrine was a lot less awkward than the year before. Everyone had had a full year to get used to the idea of he and Kagome being together, now, and even her grandfather greeted him no differently than had he been her human boyfriend.

Life continued to go by in a bit of a blur for the happy couple, and then there came the night when, while the houshi and his taijiya wife were over for dinner, Sango informed the miko and hanyou that she would be going on leave for a while soon...because she was pregnant.

Kagome squealed in delight and gave the equally excited female warrior a giant hug, in no way showing on the outside the twinge of...something...Inuyasha could detect in her scent. Not quite envy, not quite sadness. More like a longing, like how he himself had used to feel when he'd thought they would never be together.

He didn't let his detection of this emotional scent ruin their evening together, of course, congratulating the human couple and laughing at Miroku's jokes while the women talked about all things baby. Inuyasha waited until much later that night, after the slayer and monk had gone home, to breach the tender subject.

They discussed Kagome's past and present desires for a family with raw honesty.

Yes, she had always wanted to be a mother. No, she did not for a _second_ regret her life with him. Again she reiterated that she _loved_ him and _wanted_ to be with him, and had every intention of being with him for the rest of her life, provided he still felt the same way of course.

He took his turn, then, reassuring her that _yes_ he still loved and wanted her, too, and that that would _never_ change, but then he reminded her of what they'd discussed back when they'd first confessed their feelings to one another, and what she'd said again to her family that fateful Christmas Eve. A human husband was not required for raising a family. If she really wanted a child, he told her, she would have his complete support, and despite what society classified their relationship as, he would gladly take on the fatherly responsibilities in the privacy of their own home.

They weighed the pros and cons, then, discussing it openly and honestly. Adoption was always an option, assuming they would approve a 'single' woman who had a pet inu-hanyou. Not to mention her job as a reservist warrior miko put her life at risk, and if she would always have to drop whatever she was doing at a moment's notice whenever a call came in then who would watch the baby?

Of course, in reality Inuyasha could run the child to the shrine in under a minute, carrying Kagome who'd carry the child so that she could run through the barrier to deliver the babe safely into her mother or grandfather's care. At least one of them were always home during the day because it was their duty to maintain and protect the shrine that was also always open to visitors every day. If a youkai attack happened at night then her entire family would obviously be home. They also wouldn't be unaware of an attack that was happening, day or night, because they were always called as well whenever there was a 'disturbance' in order to be on alert, just in case a situation ever escalated. This meant that by the time Kagome and Inuyasha arrived with the child they'd have already been expecting them, because if she _did_ decide to adopt, Kagome would definitely discuss this contingency plan with her family in advance.

As time went on and they looked more into it, though, it seemed like adoption might actually be more trouble than it was worth. Especially if the home inspector didn't approve of the way Inuyasha had his own bedroom, as if he were, _gasp_ , a person, and then there was the sharing of the one bathroom. Not an issue for a human family, but a small child using the same facilities as a _hanyou?_ Not to mention a 'youkai' using the facilities in the first place, although maybe that wouldn't be an issue, seeing as people just thought it was cute whenever a mortal cat or dog had been trained to do so.

Their biggest concern, though, was anyone from the agency figuring out or even just suspecting that they were together, and then branding Kagome a sexual deviant that shouldn't be around children.

Besides all that, as the weeks went by and Kagome and Sango visited more often, and Kagome began asking the slayer all sorts of questions about her pregnancy and Googling things in order to better learn and ironically 'mama bear' over the _older_ woman – Kagome had almost come to think of Sango as an older sister, and would be forever grateful for the taijiya's suggestion that she register Inuyasha – the miko began longing not only for a baby, but for the entire experience. Maybe it was selfish, but she wanted to be pregnant and have her _own_ baby.

She was afraid of telling Inuyasha, only because she wasn't sure how his canine instincts would handle her carrying another man's child, but she swallowed down her nervousness and told him anyway, because she'd promised to always be honest with him. It'd always kind of been up in the air as a possible option, of course, but whenever they'd discussed it in the past they'd usually focused on the 'possibility' of adopting, so the obvious alternative to that option was never really talked about. He both surprised and relieved her by saying he thought it was a fabulous idea, though. He didn't freak out, jumping to the incorrect conclusion that she wanted permission to go get knocked up by a stranger.

He didn't even have the chance, really, because the way she'd broached the subject was that she was thinking of doing artificial insemination, but he then immediately told her that it sounded like a great idea, revealing that he already understood what the procedure was. He also promised that he'd be just as much of a doting husband as Miroku was, tending to her every need throughout her pregnancy. At least as much as he was able. He couldn't run to the store for ice cream at three in the morning, but he could definitely pamper her and do whatever she needed him to do for her at home. It would not bother him in the slightest to smell her carrying another man's child because the logical human part of his brain would easily comprehend that it would be the result of a medical procedure and that for all intents and purposes _he_ was the father.

Kagome also said, then, that she knew there were monks who 'donated', and that while the father's identity would remain anonymous she could at least ensure he was a reiki user, which would pretty much guarantee her child would be, as well. Sango had even told her once, amused, that Miroku had done his part to 'contribute to society' back before they'd met, and that if he were not now a happily married man he would probably still be contributing, which had made Kagome laugh at the time. Of course, in reality they only allowed so many samples by the same man, and rotated distribution to ensure a diverse gene pool. The last thing anyone needed was a generation of reiki users all turning out to be half siblings when so many reiki users married one another.

Thinking of Miroku and the sperm bank had Kagome realizing she'd better find out from Miroku what his old donor number had been to make sure she did _not_ get one of _his_ samples, assuming there were still any available. It wasn't that she didn't want Miroku's DNA, but she didn't want to possibly in any way put a strain on their friendship. She'd also need to find a clinic willing to inseminate a 'single' woman, but that was a hell of a lot easier than finding an adoption agency that'd approve of her, since for one thing the clinic had no reason to ever find out about Inuyasha. They shouldn't already know; it wasn't like she was somebody famous and everybody knew her business. If she went to a busy clinic in the big city nobody would know who she was, and even if they _did_ happen to recognize her from the news, because it'd stuck out in their mind because of Inuyasha, they couldn't really deny her the procedure because of her service youkai, anyway. All that should matter to them was her own physical and mental health and whether she was a good candidate for it, medically speaking.

Agreeing wholeheartedly, Inuyasha said he'd be there for her every step of the way, except of course for the actual trips to the clinic, where it would unfortunately be in everyone's best interests if he stayed home. Out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately that would also be true when it came to future regularly scheduled doctor visits. Kagome would have to play off Inuyasha's existence, for anyone who knew of him, as if he really were nothing more than a glorified service dog. Inuyasha even suggested, if it looked like somebody amongst the medical staff were growing suspicious of why she needed to resort to this instead of trying to find a nice husband, that she might 'imply' that men, in general, were not her thing. Kagome didn't want to lie, but if somebody started prying who wouldn't take 'none of your business' for an answer it was a good fallback plan in that case. It would kill two birds with one stone, explaining away her lack of a husband while simultaneously erasing any growing suspicions regarding herself and Inuyasha.

Of course, right now it was all still just talk. Kagome wanted to be there for Sango throughout the rest of _her_ pregnancy, first. but when she told the couple of her idea Sango and Miroku were also both supportive.

Sango ended up giving birth to twin girls, which the slayer teased was karma for Miroku having previously been quite the flirt prior to the two of them getting married. Now he would have to protect _two_ daughters from boys like _him_ once they were of dating age.

With Sango temporarily on maternity leave, Kagome volunteered to go on every call the local taijiya received. There was still nobody else who could handle that massive boomerang of hers – Inuyasha could lift it easily but he lacked the skill necessary to use it – but in the event of a youkai call turning out to require more aggressive weaponry Kagome's arrows were more than a decent substitute, and so that way, the taijiya group weren't down a fighter. They'd actually gained one since Inuyasha went with her.

They also weren't down Kirara, who knew their entire town quite well and so all Sango had to do was tell the highly intelligent nekomata the location of wherever the troublesome youkai was and she flew there on her own to join up with the others. The feline wasn't considered rogue because Sango's father and brother were both legally authorized to function as Kirara's handler in the event of Sango's absence. It was all just a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo to prevent liability because in reality, everyone knew Kirara was as intelligent as any human and was just helping out as a member of the team. Having found out earlier from Sango that it was possible to do that, to name a secondary temporary handler who'd have authorization in her absence, Kagome also had Sango on the books as being able to 'handle' Inuyasha in the event that _she_ was temporarily down for the count. Not a tragedy that would have her brother Souta and the Higurashi shrine taking over Inuyasha's registration, but just like if she'd twisted ankle or was sick, or anything that would force her to miss a specific call. Inuyasha could still go to help out if they needed him and legally be considered under Sango's care.

While mother and daughters bonded, Kagome and Inuyasha also 'unofficially' volunteered to cover several of Miroku's designated patrols in their forest, so that the monk could play hooky and remain home with his wife and newborn babies. They were going for runs in the forest _anyway_ , so they just covered wider ground, was all, and ran more parallel to town rather than straight out into the thick of the wilds. After some time passed and the girls weren't so new and fragile, when Sango and Miroku could really use some breaks, Kagome and Inuyasha also volunteered to babysit, hanging out at Sango and Miroku's place so that the monk and slayer could go out to dinner or the movies, or even just sit in the park under a tree for some peace and quiet for a while. When the girls were older the miko and hanyou could watch them at _their_ house, so Sango and Miroku could have a nice relaxing evening at home, but while they were still babies it was best to go to Sango and Miroku's place.

Kagome also considered it good practice. She was eager for the experience, and to learn all there was about taking care of babies. Book smarts was one thing, but the best way to learn was by doing. Of course, Sango was just winging it, herself. Nobody was _born_ knowing how to be a good parent, but her maternal instincts had kicked in something fierce, and holding one of Sango's babies while giving the infant a bottle had Kagome's biological clock's alarm going off.

Still, she waited.

Watching and learning and observing for another year, it was just a little after the twins' first birthday, Sango long since back at work with the slayer's mother at the ready to step in as babysitter whenever needed, that Kagome found herself deciding that she didn't want to wait anymore. She'd always wanted to be a mother and falling in love with Inuyasha hadn't changed that. She'd have sacrificed that dream if it were necessary to do so. If she had to choose, she'd pick Inuyasha, hands down. But neither the hanyou nor anything else in her life was going to force such a decision from her. When she told Inuyasha one night that she was ready, that she wanted to move forward with doing the procedure, his response had been to pull her into a kiss and tell her she was going to make a wonderful mother.

It was a future they were both looking forward to.

Fin

For now

A/N:

Well okay, so HERE'S the thing, LOL. I literally just finished the above epilogue and am typing this author's note on January 25th around 2pm, and I will be uploading the story after that. It could have gone on forever and ever but seeing as it was SUPPOSED to be uploaded a _month_ ago, I figured it was time to end this bad boy! I'm not even going to do one final proofread, as I always proofread as I go. I've probably missed something, and if you spot a mistake please feel free to point it out and I'll fix it, but the story should hopefully be mostly error free...emphasis on hope, LOL. The sex scenes still need to be edited for the version, so that's why that one will be appearing much later in the evening than the version.

My original idea was to conclude the story with Kagome having her baby, but that's just not feasible anymore, and I didn't want to half-ass a breeze-through of it in the epilogue because you deserve better! I've had people wanting a decent inclusion of a baby at the end for a lot of my stories, and I don't want to disappoint you guys. I also decided to go the artificial insemination route because I _always_ either do adoption or Inuyasha's biological child (and the latter will NOT work in this universe with the societal rules I've established, which is why he _is_ sterile, not changing my mind) so I thought insemination would be a fun third alternative that I've not yet tackled.

So the bad news is, this story ends here. The _good_ news is I will eventually write at least one more story in this universe that will fully revolve around Kagome's pregnancy and having the baby.

But! That is not my next immediate project that I'm now going to start working on.

I've been writing exclusively in this universe since August, and my brain is screaming at me to work on something else. On that note, I'm afraid I have some more bad but also good news. The bad news is I've decided that I no longer want to guarantee the production of Halloween and Christmas stories every year. They simply take up too much of my time, and I never can seem to get much work done on any of my _other_ story ideas because inevitably I have to drop what I'm doing to start working on Halloween and Christmas again, year after year after year. Not to mention the stress it puts me under, having a deadline, and then how crappy I feel being _late_ like I am now. Plus I have SO MANY OTHER STORIES I want to write, and _that's_ the good news. The reason I want to stop doing Halloween and Christmas stories is so that I can _finally_ finish and post the shit ton of half written fanfics I've been sitting on for the last several years now.

I'm also going to be starting a new short story collection, similar to "Hanging by a moment" but for stories approximately 1k or 2k words long, rather than a 500 word limit, and this new collection will also be for Canon _and AU_ story ideas. I've decided it'll be a great way to bust through some of the ideas I've had floating around for more than a decade now that can be told concisely.

Not all of my future stories can be told concisely, though. I have several more novel length fics in the works, so have patience. You haven't seen the last of me! Not by a long shot!

Oh and PS, I have four ebooks on Amazon under the author name Rhiannon Archer, so if you love my stories and have friends you think would love them too except they're not into Inuyasha, then you can recommend my books! They're all fanfic adaptations thus far, so they're stories you already know and love. In the future I will also be publishing completely _original_ ebooks to Amazon that won't have fanfiction counterparts. I'll always announce it here when I do! :-)


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